By Dessa Bayrock (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: October 17, 2012
The UFV men’s volleyball fell to the Columbia Bible College this past Friday, defeated 18-16 in a fifth set by a rebuilding Bearcats team.
The Cascades team started off slowly, anticlimactically hitting the first serve straight into the net. The Bearcats gathered up a five-point lead before the audience could blink, despite several powerful spikes from Trevor Nickel and a fast-paced game on all sides. CBC continued to sneak points in past UFV’s defence; the reactions of the UFV team seemed to be on a half-second delay, and the team likewise trailed in points.
Several key digs from Adam Chaplin helped UFV get their head back in the game, and his powerful leap of a serve formed the foundation for UFV to start building points upon. CBC still stayed on top and took the first set with a decisive 25-19.
The second set started with a terrific rally, ending in first blood to the Cascades. UFV gave the Bearcats a run for their money with a much closer set, and the Cascades eventually took the set 25-18.
Although CBC came back to win the third set, the Cascades tied it up again in the fourth with a score of 25-22.
During a close fifth set, the Bearcats dug their claws into the Cascades to take the set and the game with a score of 16-18 and an overall score of 3-2.
“We had our opportunities to finish plays, finish sets and finish the game … but we didn’t capitalize,” said assistant coach Carl Neinhaus. “The boys will draw their lessons from this one and come out for redemption tomorrow night.”
The Cascades fought hard on Saturday in a rematch against the Bearcats (this time at CBC), but were once again unable to snatch the final set in a 3-2 loss.
The Cascades men’s volleyball team will play Camosun College next, on Oct 19 at 8 p.m. at the Envision Athletic Centre on Abbotsford campus.
