The UFV women’s volleyball team came into the weekend looking for the coveted weekend sweep when they took on the Capilano Blues. Beating a team is one thing but doing it in back-to-back nights is no small task. UFV wound up pulling it off in back-to-back four-set matches with the Blues, now tied for third in the PACWEST conference. That being said, while a sweep sounds almost effortless, this weekend was anything but.
The first game of the weekend for the Cascades started out rough. UFV fell behind and wound up losing the first set 25-14. UFV came back in the second set playing much better, and when Capilano called a timeout with the Cascades up 11-6, it felt like the team might be on the rebound. Capilano wasn’t done by any means and hustled all the way back to a 19-19 score when UFV called their first timeout of the set. After a back-and-forth, #9 Amanda Matsui lead the Cascades with two big plays to win the set 25-23.
The third set was a good one for UFV, who got out to a 17-6 lead over Capilano and the Blues called a timeout. The lead held for the Cascades who served much better and seemed to be completely on track. Big efforts from Amanda Matsui and #12 Kim Bauder helped UFV go up two sets to one, putting them in position to win the match in the fourth set. In the fourth, Capilano called a timeout with the score 8-3 and UFV looked just as good as they did in the set prior. A lack of mistakes combined with solid play from #16 Keira Fisher and others put the Cascades up 15-8 by the next Blues timeout, and from there UFV went on to win the next two sets 25-11 each and the match in four sets.
The second match between these two teams played out much differently, with UFV starting strong this time. The Cascades and Blues came out playing hard early, but UFV won the first set 25-20. The second set was tougher, as Capilano called a timeout with the score at 18-18. The Cascades were playing well but mistakes were keeping the Blues in the game and quite close. Capilano as down as UFV pulled away to a set score of 25-20 for the Cascades, two things about the game were clear: Capilano was benefiting a lot from UFV’s mistakes, but they had no answer for the play of Amanda Matsui, who seemed to consistently overpower the opposing team with big offensive plays.
The third set had Capilano jump right back in the game. Seemingly unbothered by UFV’s early success, the Blues jumped to 6-14 and 9-19 leads, both which warranted timeouts from the Cascades. Capilano’s serving was on full display as Blues #7 Meghan Koven and others helped them take a big lead. However UFV pushed back. Capilano called a timeout late in the set with the score at 19-24 and took the set 25-20, but UFV was rallying. The fourth set saw the Cascades excel yet again, getting to a 13-9 score lead and Capilano calling a timeout. The score was tied at 20-20 but just at the right time, Amanda Matsui jumped in. In what can only be described as a completely clutch performance, Matsui took over for UFV, and with the help of her hard-playing teammates, they overcame a 23-24 Capilano lead and took the set 26-24.
Image: UFV Cascades/Flickr
