Eric Wilkins Sports Editor “sports _ @theotherpress.ca [ was a good weekend (January 24 and 25) for the men’s volleyball team as they swept the visiting University of the Fraser were especially dominant on Saturday night as they took the game in three sets. “It’s the first sweep we’ve had this year—we’ve split every other weekend. | think it’s good for the guys. They’ve been working really hard and I feel like the work we’ve put in, especially this semester, is really starting to show on the Shis ibsue: (Y Men's volleyball beats UFV (¥ Women's volleyball suffers two losses against UFV And more! CASCADING : floor,” said coach Brad Hudson : after the game. Douglas set the tone early : on, jumping out toa 9-2 lead : before UFV showed any signs of : fight. Andrew McWilliam was in : fine serving form, putting away : a pair of aces to help the Royals : pull away. The set was finished : off on four straight points from Valley (UFV) Cascades. The Royals : Douglas—highlighted by a dink : shot from Andrew Robson before : Matt Santema put it away 25-12. UFV was better prepared : inthe second set, even holding : the lead for a good portion of it. : Unfortunately for the visitors, : however, Douglas was up for the : challenge. Down 10-6, coach : Hudson called a timeout in an : effort to get the squad’s heads : back in the game. It worked. With : Nicholas Bridle delivering some : powerful spikes and Drew Ruby : picking up anace along the way, : the Royals clawed their way toa : 14-14 tie. The set stayed tight right : until the end—no more than three : : points separating the two teams : : at any point—when McWilliam : supplied the final dig before Ruby : finished it off. : for the taking and they did just : that. The Cascades stuck with : the Royals early on, but a hard : spike from McWilliam followed : bya demoralizing block from : Caleb Konrad triggered a six- : point run to put the visitors in the : rear-view mirror. Douglas kept a : comfortable cushion for the rest of : (¥Y David Stern retires as commissioner ee ® The final set was Douglas’ Know the score? Contact: Eric Wilkins, Sports Editor M sports@theotherpress. ca www theotherpress.ca : the game until Bridle and Robson : teamed up to secure the win. “For a sweep, it feels pretty : good. I think the team really : came together—good to feel all : the guns going at the same time,” commented Bridle. Yamato Konishi remarked on : the team’s energy level helping to : pick up the win, “Sometimes we're : so hyper and sometimes we're so : down, but today and yesterday we : were constant and really played for : the point.” With the team now ina : three-way tie for third place : coach Hudson spoke about the : upcoming match-ups against : first-place (only one win up on the : Royals) Columbia Bible College: “They’re a good team. They’ve By Eric Wilkins ANDREW MCWILLIAM (#5) got kids on their team that have won a national championship so you cart really question their group. But at the same time, we're still building so I feel pretty good about where we're at and excited to get back on the road. We've been on the road for most of this semester and we had our trip to California so we're pretty comfortable away from home now and it'll be a fun place to play.” Unsettled » Women’s volleyball suffers two losses against UFV Eric Wilkins Sports Editor “sports _ @theotherpress.ca he women’s volleyball team hosted the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) last weekend (January 24 and 25), but were unable to take a single set against the second-place Cascades. That being said, despite the results, there were positives that could be drawn from the games. “I think there were some good things. We really competed with them for both nights. But again, we need to stop being that ‘young’ team and start bringing 100 per cent in every set,” commented coach Kyra Iannone following Saturday’s loss. The Royals started the game with good energy, resulting in them hopping in front 8-3 early on, thanks in part to a pair of aces from Kalena Connors. UFV fought their way back though, eventually tying it up at 9-9. It stayed tight until the end of the set—never more than three points separating the two teams—but UFV ultimately took it 25-23. In the second set, the Royals were again determined to stay in it. Some strong shots from Maddy Burt, Avneet Shokar, and Toni Vandenbrink kept the hosts close and even in the lead at times, but continuous pressure from UFV eventually wore them down. After being deadlocked at 19-19, the Cascades broke away to take the set 25-20. In what was to be the final set, Douglas couldn't quite keep the pace. After staying relatively close at 12-9, with two back-to- back miscues for the Royals the Cascades went on a six-point run that the hosts would be unable to recover from. Final score for the third was 20-15 for UFV. “Last night we had a good night. Although we lost, it wasn’t a bad game to lose because we played well. Today for the first half of the night we played well and then by the end we took little tumbles. Tonight was way harder to lose than last night was,’ said captain Tori Trim. Comparing the two games against UFV, coach Iannone remarked that, “I think systematically and blocking- wise they did a way better job today. Serving-wise they did a way better job today. I just think accountability and off-ball defence needs to change a little bit for us to beat teams like that.” With the team now heading on the road against Columbia Bible College (tied with Douglas for fifth), coach Iannone was, “really confident,” about her team’s chances—a sentiment shared by Trim, who felt that they could, “win both of them, for sure.” Kalena Connors // By Eric Wilkins Player of the Game: KALENA CONNORS (#7)