PacWest conference volleyball action in Abbotsford last week saw a trio of local squads boost their playoff stock.
• At Columbia Bible College, the Bearcats men faced the Douglas Royals in a clash of two nationally ranked teams – CBC was No. 5 in the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association (CCAA) poll, while the Royals were No. 11.
The Bearcats registered an impressive two-game sweep, winning in four sets on both Thursday and Saturday to improve to 13-7, tops in the PacWest.
• The CBC women also swept their Douglas counterparts, winning in five sets Thursday and four sets Saturday to boost their record to 6-14. That allowed them to move ahead of the Royals into sole possession of fifth place.
• The University of the Fraser Valley men’s squad is playing catch-up in the race for the final PacWest playoff berth, and they registered a pair of terrific upset wins over the Capilano Blues.
The Blues were ranked No. 10 in the nation coming in, but the Cascades prevailed in four sets on Friday and in three straight on Saturday. They’re now 7-13, but still sit two games back of College of the Rockies for the final playoff spot.
• The defending national champion UFV women faced a surprisingly stiff test from fourth-place Capilano – they eked out a five-set win on Friday, but fell in five to the Blues on Saturday. The loss dropped the Cascades (17-3) out of a tie for first place; they’re now one game back of Vancouver Island University (18-2).
• In PacWest basketball action, the Bearcats men (2-14) find themselves three games back of the sixth and final PacWest playoff spot after dropping a pair of home games vs. the Camosun Chargers (78-70 on Friday) and VIU (97-74 on Saturday).
• The CBC women’s hoopsters fell to 1-15 on the season after losses to Camosun (73-41) and VIU (83-46).
• All six local programs play at home again this week.
The CBC basketball teams host Douglas on Thursday and Langara on Saturday (women 6 p.m., men 8 p.m. both nights), while the volleyball teams both play VIU in doubleheaders on Friday (women 6 p.m., men 8 p.m.) and Saturday (women 1 p.m., men 3 p.m.).
The UFV v-ballers host Camosun on Friday (women 6 p.m., men 8 p.m.) and Saturday (women 1 p.m., men 3 p.m.).
