Brent Mutis
CapU Blues sports info
At times, they looked like the best team on the court but not frequently enough to get the better of the defending PACWEST champion Douglas College Royals.
The Capilano Blues pushed the Royals both nights but lost the Friday opener in four sets. The Royals needed the minimum three sets to claim Saturday’s rematch.
Each of Friday’s sets was decided by two points with the middle two frames each going to extra points. In his Blues and PACWEST debut, outside hitter Luke Tiegen was a force, putting away 17 kills on 31 swings, posting a .387 hitting percentage.
Most of those were teed up for him by rookie setter and New Zealand native Kameo Wagner, who totaled 38 assists on Friday.
CapU gave away some points in the service game however, with 22 errors from the line.
In Saturday’s rematch, Douglas played a tidy home game and were exceptional on serve-receive, making just a handful of errors on first touch.
The Blues didn’t beat themselves with receiving and service errors Saturday but couldn’t get in sync on offence with setters Wagner and Liam Martin combining for just 21 assists. Xavier Masztak led Capilano with six kills.
Other bright spots for the Blues on the weekend including Quentin Middleton getting in on four blocks and Connor Collinson-Lea making 22 digs from his libero spot after playing outside hitter a season ago.
Capilano has a bye Oct. 31-Nov. 1 and host Camosun College Nov. 7 and 8 in their home opener. Games are 8 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday.
