Abbotsford, BC – The UFV Cascades got off to a slow start as they fell in four sets (15-25, 25-19, 23-25, 24-26) to the University of Alberta Pandas on Friday at the UFV Athletic Centre.
The loss drops the Cascades to 19-4 on the season, while the Pandas improve to 18-5. The two teams will meet once again on Saturday at 5pm for a match that has immense playoff implications, as the Cascades and Pandas each look to lock up a top-4 finish, and a home playoff date.
Lauren Attieh notched a team-high 14 kills to go with 10 digs. Setter Cailin Bitter had three aces and 18 digs, while Gabby Attieh had 11 kills.
Tremblay led the Pandas with 17 kills, while Guezen had 15, and Johnston finished with 14.
The Pandas came out flying in the first to snag a 14-3 lead, while picking up four kills from Laila Johnston in the process. The Cascades would fight to close the gap, but six first set kills from Abby Guezen would help to close it out.
UFV rebounded strongly in the second, with Lauren Attieh stepping up to find two blocks and three kills, as the Cascades took a 20-13 lead on their way to leveling the match.
A tight third set came down to the wire, but a pair of Lauryn Tremblay kills allowed the Pandas to pull it out 25-23.
After building a four-point lead in the fourth, the Pandas looked to have it wrapped up, but kills from Lauren and Gabby Attieh let the Cascades tie it up at 24. That would be as close as the Cascades would get however, as another pair of kills from Tremblay closed it out 26-24 for Alberta.
The Cascades and Pandas meet up once again on Saturday for UFV’s annual senior night. The match is set to start at 5pm, with a pregame ceremony scheduled for 4:45pm to celebrate the Cascades graduating athletes.
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