The Columbia Bible College men's volleyball team tightened its grip on first place in the PacWest conference with a home-court sweep on the weekend.
The Bearcats beat the Vancouver Island University Mariners on Friday and Saturday, dropping just one set over the course of two victories.
Those results boosted the No. 5-ranked team in the nation to 15-7 in PacWest play, two games up on the second-place Camosun Chargers with two games left in the regular season.
• Across town at the University of the Fraser Valley, the Cascades women ran their record to 19-3 on the season with a sweep of the Camosun Chargers, winning in straight sets on both Friday and Saturday. UFV, ranked No. 5 in the nation, sits second in the PacWest, one game back of VIU (20-2).
• The first-place Mariners women, ranked No. 2 in Canada, were at CBC on the weekend, where they beat the Bearcats both nights in three straight sets. The 'Cats fell to 6-16, but they still sit in fifth place in the PacWest and have assured themselves of a playoff berth.
• The UFV men's volleyballers, meanwhile, saw their post-season hopes snuffed by second-place Camosun. The Cascades pushed them to five sets on Friday only to fall 15-11 in the final set, and lost in four sets on Saturday. That leaves them at 7-15, three games back of the College of the Rockies with just two games remaining.
• The Cascades and Bearcats volleyball teams wrap up the regular season with a home-and-home set this week. UFV plays host on Friday, and the scene shifts to CBC on Saturday (women 6 p.m., men 8 p.m. both nights).
• On the PacWest basketball scene, the Bearcats men notched an 83-77 victory over the Douglas Royals on Thursday, then dropped a hard-fought 110-96 decision to the nation's No. 1-ranked team, the Langara Falcons. That leaves them at 3-15 on the season, but they still have a mathematical shot at the sixth and final PacWest playoff berth with three games remaining.
• The CBC women's hoopsters (1-17) lost 50-36 to Douglas on Thursday, then pushed Langara to the limit before falling 53-52 in overtime on Saturday.
The Bearcats basketball teams hit the road this weekend to face the Capilano Blues and the Quest Kermodes.