MVB: Cougars cruise to 3-0 victory over Fraser Valley

Box Score
CALGARY, AB –  Three up, three down.
 
The Mount Royal University Cougars men’s volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-19) over the visiting University of Fraser Valley Cascades on Friday night.

Mount Royal saw a huge rejuvenation to their lineup with Jacob van Geel making his return to play after sustaining an ankle injury on Nov. 25 against the University of Calgary and missing the next six games. The 2022-23 Canada West All-Star displayed no signs of rust and was dominant right from the start.

Friday’s game was kicked off with a lengthy rally that resulted in the Cascades winning the point. All signs pointed to a high-intensity matchup between the two sides.

MRU and UFV each traded two-or-three-point runs but after a couple of booming serves from Chris Byam, the Cougars pulled away to take the first set by four points.

Brothers Jonas and Silas Van Huizen excelled for Fraser Valley and offered a pushback against a rolling Cougars team. Cascades setter, Silas posted a team-high 25 assists and was the team’s standout player in the Cascades’ loss. 

After another commanding set from MRU led by senior outside hitter Max Haronga, the Cougars took a 2-0 set lead, looking to solidify a sweep.

In the third set, Mount Royal was able to wrap things up. Veteran middle provided a big spark for the Cougars today Cody Boulding posting a game-high four blocks. Boulding and MRU continued their strong play from the previous two sets to make quick work of UFV and register the sweep.

The Cougars and Cascades will rematch Saturday evening at 5 p.m. from MRU’s Kenyon Court. Tickets are available for purchase online and the game can be streamed live on Canada West TV.