Two of Abbotsford’s PacWest volleyball programs sit in first place heading into the Christmas break, but one of them carries a bit more momentum.
That would be the Columbia Bible College men’s squad, who swept the Camosun Chargers on the road in Victoria to improve to 9-5 in the ridiculously tough collegiate conference.
The Bearcats prevailed in three sets on Friday and in four on Saturday, and have now won six of their past seven games.
“Five of our starters didn’t play any competitive volleyball at all last year, and one of our starters is playing a completely new position,” head coach Phil Wiens said, tracing his team’s growth curve.
“We’ve been learning how to play as a team, how to play nice and steady ball, and whose role in what on the floor. We’ve been seeing some real nice results the last few weeks, and coming into this weekend, it just came together.”
The University of the Fraser Valley women, meanwhile, had cruised through the first semester, winning their first 12 games, but hit a speed bump last weekend, suffering a pair of losses in Nanaimo to Vancouver Island University.
The Cascades, the defending national champs who came in ranked No. 1 in the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association (CCAA), lost both nights in straight sets.
“We didn’t do very many things well, and VIU played very well,” Cascades coach Dennis Bokenfohr said. “Basically, our game comes down to how well we serve and how well you pass their serve, and we did both of those things poorly.
“It kind of makes you appreciate the winning a bit more, because we’ve had a lot of the success for a while now. It puts it in perspective that losing does happen, and what it feels like.”
In other volleyball action, the UFV men were also swept at VIU and sit sixth at the break with a 5-9 record. The CBC women are also in sixth place at 3-11, having dropped both games at Camosun on the weekend.
On the PacWest basketball scene, the Bearcats men’s and women’s teams were both swept on the road. The men (2-6) fell 80-61 to the Quest Kermodes and 82-71 to the Capilano Blues, while the women (1-7) lost to 96-30 to Quest and 67-43 to Capilano.
