Blues bounce back to earn weekend split vs. Cascades

The Capilano Blues, upset victims on Friday evening, came back strong in Saturday’s rematch with the University of the Fraser Valley women’s volleyball team.

At the Envision Athletic Centre, the CCAA No. 7-ranked Blues (8-4) raced out to early leads in each set, en route to victory in three straight sets (25-23, 25-16, 25-16) over the Cascades (4-8).

“We put ourselves in a hole every single game,” noted UFV head coach Mike Gilray, whose team had beaten Capilano in four sets on Friday. “Starting from behind, it mentally took us out of the game. Our girls have worked hard this semester at getting better technically and keeping a better mindset. I think those things passed us by today – they struggled to keep a positive mindset.”

Sophomore left side Kelly Robertson notched a team-high 10 kills for the Cascades, while Nicole Blandford had a strong night from the service line with three aces. Libero Amy Davidson chipped in with 13 digs.

But the hosts were unable to find the same team-wide traction they generated in Friday’s breakthrough performance.

“Coming into the weekend, there were no specific expectations, other than taking care of our side,” Gilray said. “Coming off an upset win, if you will, the expectation of playing at that high level was there. So when you miss that for a couple points to start each game, you start to put more pressure on yourself.”

Dan Kinvig,  UFV Communications Coordinator