The PacWest is about to serve up volleyball playoffs and VIU’s teams go in as top contenders.
Vancouver Island University’s men’s and women’s v-ball teams are seeded No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in their provincial championship tournaments in Abbotsford from Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 22-24.
The VIU Mariners women go into the tourney on a winning note, as they swept the Camosun Chargers in the final matches of the regular season this past Friday and Saturday at the VIU gym.
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Shane Hyde, coach of the M’s women, said his team looked comfortable, calm and confident on the court.
“And that’s something that we’ve been lacking a little bit in our last few weekends and I think it was a nice way for us to bounce back and get ready for what’s about to come,” he said.
VIU (18-6) missed out on the top seed, but Hyde said that won’t make much difference to the difficulty of the tournament draw.
“Right now, the [No.] 3 and 4 teams are very, very good teams,” he said. “That’s not to say they don’t get upset, but definitely 3, 4 are almost the same team, especially the way they match up to us.”
The Mariners women will take on the winner of Fraser Valley and College of the Rockies in the semifinals, and the No. 1-seeded Douglas Royals are expected to come out of the other side of the bracket.
Chantal Cumming, Mariners setter, said she and her teammates are ready to get playoffs started, play for each other and show what they’re made of.
“Every single team brings the energy, they bring their best play and it’s for sure one or two notches higher level and it’s very fun to play. We all look forward to the post-season,” she said.
VIU’s women beat Camosun by scores of 25-21, 25-20, 25-9 on Friday and 25-14, 25-11, 25-17 on Saturday. VIU’s men, meanwhile, won 25-19, 25-27, 30-28, 25-21 on Friday but lost their regular-season finale Saturday by scores of 26-28, 28-26, 28-26, 25-23.
The VIU men play the winner of Fraser Valley and Douglas in the PacWest semifinals.
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