Vancouver Island wasn’t a particularly friendly stop over the weekend for Abbotsford-based volleyball teams in the Pacwest.
The UFV Cascades and CBC Bearcats men’s and women’s teams trekked off the Island without a win, dropping all four games to theCamosun Chargers and VIU Mariners respectively.
The Cascades men’s team came close on Saturday, winning the first two sets (25-19, 28-26), but then losing three straight to theundefeated Chargers. The men also lost 3-1 to Camosun on Friday.
Men’s team head coach Kyle Donen said his team had chances to win, but didn’t capitalize.
“We played well at the beginning of every set – the first two sets, we took it to them,” he said. “We had our opportunities to put themaway in the third, too. We didn’t put them away the way we needed to; we didn’t execute at key times. All in all, we can’t be toodisappointed about the overall outcome of the weekend. We took the number one team in the country to the brink.”
The men now have a record of four wins and four losses on the season, and are in third place in the Pacwest.
It was a similar story for the UFV women, who held a 2-1 set lead on Camosun, but eventually lost 3-2 on Friday.
Women’s team head coach Mike Gilray said it was a good effort, but it stings to end up with a loss.
“I thought this was the best game we’ve played the entire year,” he said. “It was a two-hour marathon, point for point most of the way,and we got better as a team.”
The Cascades also lost 3-1 on Saturday to fall to two wins and six losses on the season. The women are in fifth place in the seven-teamPacwest.
UFV next travels to Cranbrook to battle the College of the Rockies Avalanche on Friday and Saturday. The Cascades return home on Nov.27 and 28 for games against the Capilano University Blues.
The Bearcats men’s and women’s teams were complete shut out by the Mariners, as VIU won all four games 3-0. The men remain winlessin 10 games in Pacwest competition, while the women have a record of two wins and eight losses.
CBC has a bye week this weekend, and return home on Nov. 27 and 28 to host the Douglas College Royals.