The UFV Cascades men’s and women’s volleyball teams couldn’t solve the visiting VIU Mariners over the weekend, with both teams opening the Pacwest regular season at 0-2.
The men fell 3-1 on both Friday and Saturday, with close set losses on both days costing them.
Saturday saw the men lose the first two sets 25-23, storm back to win set three 26-24, but then fall 25-14 in the fourth.
Men’s head coach Kyle Donen said he hopes his team can build off this early experience.
“It was a good battle back and forth for both teams,” he stated. “It’s tough to lose the first two of the season, but I like that we got to play against a strong team – it prepares us well for what’s to come in the next couple weeks.”
It was a somewhat similar story for the women, who lost 3-1 on Friday and fell 3-0 on Saturday.
Women’s head coach Mike Gilray stated that playing the Mariners is a good early-season challenge.
“We wanted to measure ourselves against a very good team, and we had some good runs against them at times,” he said on Saturday. “But that’s a very good volleyball team that has a lot of composure and structure to their game. The outcome wasn’t what we wanted today, but the girls would love to play them again right away, even though we won’t get to for a while.”
The teams next travel to Cranbrook to take on the College of the Rockies Avalanche on Friday and Saturday. The next home games for the teams occur on Nov. 2, when the Douglas College Royals come to town.
For more on the teams, visit ufvcascades.ca.
