Brent Mutis, CapU Sport Information & Compliance Officer
FRIDAY, FEB. 21
The Capilano Blues men's volleyball team will play for gold and the right to advance to the national championships after a thrilling five-set semifinals victory over the defending PACWEST and national champions the Vancouver Island University (VIU) Mariners.
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The Blues took the final two points of the final set which went to extra points. A crucial block by setter Simon Friesen was followed by the 22nd kill of the afternoon for outside hitter Rafael Hilario to seal the win.
The Mariners took the opening set by a slim 25-23 margin but CapU evened things with a 25-17 win in the second set where they produced 15 kills.
The third set went in VIU's favour but that was as close to victory as they'd get on the day.
With no room for error, the Blues hit .355 and again racked up 15 kills in the fourth set to push things to a fifth and deciding frame.
Again, it was a see-saw battle with the teams trading points right up to the finish. Capilano looked in command finally at 14-11 but VIU managed one last surge to equalize once again. At 15-15, it was Friesen and Hilario that produced the needed results to send the Blues through to the title match.
The gold-medal match is Saturday at 8 p.m. against Camosun College.
Camosun, the tournament's No. 4-seeded team, knocked off No. 1 Douglas College in the late game Thursday. With CapU's win over VIU, top-two seeds in the event are out of the running.
THURSDAY, FEB. 20
Getting double-digit kills in each set plus 12 aces from the service line, CapU defeated the University of the Fraser Valley 3-0 Thursday in the PACWEST provincial semifinals.
Jacob Hopkins led the Blues with 10 kills. Head coach Dave Dooley substituted players frequently throughout the match knowing his side will have to play three games. Jenson Yuen split time with Simon Friesen at setter while Ben Friesen and Hilario produced seven and nine kills respectively.
Leonard Tesarik, both Friesens and Hilario chalked up two aces each.
