Skip to content

UFV Cascades women’s volleyball team extends win streak to nine

Women sweep TRU in Kamloops, men drop pair to fall to 4-14
31648587_web1_230126-ABB-ufvvball-1_1
The UFV Cascades women’s volleyball team has now won nine straight. (Valley Films photo)

The University of the Fraser Valley Cascades women’s volleyball team just keeps on winning.

The women extended their win streak to nine games with victories over the Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack on Friday (Jan. 20) and Saturday (Jan. 21) in Kamloops.

UFV took down TRU 3-1 (25-19, 26-28, 25-17 and 25-18) on Friday and excellent blocking helped seal the win.

Alicja Hardy-Francis notched four blocks and four aces for the Cascades, while Gabreille Attieh had a game-high 19 kills to go with one ace, and Lauren Attieh hit over 0.550 efficiency to finish the night with 16 kills.

“Alicja [Hardy-Francis] blocked really well,” stated women’s head coach Janelle Rozema. “She got four blocks, but she followed the game plan really well. She had a lot of blocks that they covered and continued to play, but she had a fantastic blocking game.”

The strong play continued on Saturday with a dominant 3-0 (25-22, 25-17 and 25-18) win.

Rozema said she is pleased with the team’s play on this incredible run, but they can continue to improve.

“There is really no limit to this group,” she said. “Every time we play, we are playing better and better. We are still on a steady climb, so I’m really excited to see how we continue to build over the rest of the season. We have to stay hungry for always getting better. Although we are playing really well, I still feel that we haven’t peaked.”

The women now sit tied for third in Canada West play and have a record of 13-5.

The men dropped a pair of games to the Wolfpack, falling 3-2 (22-25, 25-20, 21-25, 33-31 and 15-10) on Friday and 3-1 (25-23, 19-25, 21-25 and 20-25).

Head coach Nathan Bennett admitted the season has had its fair share of challenges.

“We came into this year with a goal in mind and falling short of that goal has been frustrating to our group,” he said after Saturday’s loss. “At the end of the day, we can give guys the opportunity to play and keep solidifying our structure and our culture and what we want to accomplish here.”

The men now sit at 4-14 and the possibility of reaching the playoffs continues to dwindle. The Cascades would have to pass three teams and need a lot of help to reach eighth. They currently sit in 11th place in the 13-team division.

Both teams return to Abbotsford to host the Brandon Bobcats on Friday (Jan. 27) and Saturday (Jan. 28).

RELATED: UFV Cascades women’s volleyball win streak hits seven



Ben Lypka

About the Author: Ben Lypka

I joined the Abbotsford News in 2015.
Read more