It was right there for the Capilano Blues on Friday night in front of an energetic home crowd, yet victory escaped their grasp in the final moments.

CapU was up two sets to one and still had a chance to get in the win column, going to several extra points in the fifth set but it was the visiting Douglas College Royals that emerged triumphant.

Riding the energy of a lively home-opener crowd, the Blues took the first set in dramatic fashion 28-26 and after dropping the second set, rebounded to narrowly take the third set which put them in the driver’s seat but they couldn’t get across the finish line before the more veteran Royals side.

A bright light for Capilano was the play of Brayden Labossiere at setter. The third-year Vancouver product covered lots of the court and showed nice hands, setting up the Blues hitters. He found success sharing the ball between Australian import Xavier Masztak who had 10 kills and first-year Connor Collinson-Lea, who gave the crowd plenty to cheer about with a team-high 11 kills while also contributing 12 digs.

The young Blues squad seemed to have trouble getting out of the gate Saturday in the second game of the weekend doubleheader and dropped the opening set by 10 points.

Capilano corrected over the final two sets and were within three points of a second set win when the Royals rallied to go up 2-0. They’d take the third frame by three points as well to clinch it.

Collinson-Lea was again a factor Saturday and as much as he brought to the attacking game, was remarkable in the serve receive game, handling the bulk of the Blues first touches. He ended his weekend with 18 kills.

Next up for the Blues is a trip to Vancouver Island to take on the VIU Mariners in a Friday-Saturday set Nov. 1 and 2. The next home games for CapU are Nov. 29 and 30, when they host College of the Rockies.