The second half of the PACWEST women’s volleyball season opens this weekend and the sprint to the PACWEST playoffs begins.
One of the most important matches on Friday and Saturday will see the Capilano Blues (6-6) host the CBC Bearcats (5-7). This will be the second time they meet this season after splitting a weekend in November.
The Blues entered the holiday break with three wins in their last four matches. Offensively Tyneille Neufeld leads her club with 160 kills and 183 total offensive points. She was also the “go-to” player in their first meeting with the Bearcats as she collected 30 kills. Overall the Blues are gathering 10.2 kills each set and have a hitting percentage of .191%.
The defence of the Blues has been very good through the first half with 14.7 digs each set, not giving up much to the opposition. Both Neufeld and Tracy Ewashkiw have over 125 digs each and Isabela Lima has 98.
The Bearcats were the hottest team heading into the holiday break with five straight wins and seem to finally find their groove after losing their first seven. Veteran Jodi Enns has seemingly put the team on her back and leads the PACWEST with 188 kills and is the only player over 200 total offensive points. In the two matches against the Blues in November she collected 38 kills.
Head coach Duncan Harrison knows momentum is a funny thing and he is hoping to continue to have the success they enjoyed at the end of the first half, “It is important for us to get off to a good start in the second semester. We need to build off of the finish we worked so hard for at the end of the first semester.”
This weekend the Bearcats open six straight on the road taking them to Capilano, VIU and COTR before closing out the month at home. So far this season they are 2-3 away from CBC.
Friday night’s match at Capilano is set for 6:00pm, followed by a 5:00pm start on Saturday.