Cascades get back on winning track, beat Avalanche in four sets

The University of the Fraser Valley women’s volleyball team snapped a six-game losing streak on Friday evening, defeating the College of the Rockies Avalanche in four sets on the road.

Coming off a long bus ride to Cranbrook, the Cascades started slowly, dropping the first set 25-14. But they controlled the match from that point, winning the next three sets 25-21, 25-20 and 25-18.

UFV boosted its record to 3-6, good for fifth place in the PACWEST, while the seventh-place Avalanche fell to 1-6. The two teams clash again on Saturday at 1 p.m. Mountain time.

“We decided we didn’t travel that far to show up like that,” Cascades head coach Mike Gilray said, reflecting on his squad’s strong finish after the slow start. “We left the starting lineup the same, and the most important thing was how we responded. They picked up their game, and it was great to see.”

Kelly Robertson led the charge for the Cascades – the sophomore outside hitter registered a 40 per cent kill efficiency en route to 13 kills, and also racked up 16 digs.

“Watching her play like that, I think, inspired the other girls,” said Gilray, whose team had dropped its last six matches after opening the PACWEST regular season with a pair of victories over the Columbia Bible College Bearcats. “We passed the best we have all season.”

Libero Amy Davidson notched 24 digs, while setter Nicole Blandford posted 34 assists and drew praise from Gilray for her excellent decision-making.

“It was great to see them continue their development as a team and to see that the work we’re putting in, they’re starting to build confidence from it,” Gilray said.

Dan Kinvig,  UFV Communications Coordinator