CapU sports info
Having secured a spot at the CCAA national championship for the first time in 10 years, the Capilano Blues weren't able to claim the top prize at the PACWEST provincials at Douglas College Saturday in a three-set loss to the Vancouver Island University (VIU) Mariners.
The PACWEST had two berths to this year's national championship tournament and CapU's win Friday night over Douglas College assured them one of the spots. VIU, the top-seeded team at this year's provincials, showed their class in earning a straight-sets win Saturday.
The opening set was the most competitive, with VIU taking it 25-19. The Mariners size at the net and ability to keep points alive with digs in the back row allowed them to take control of the match and eventually claim the title, their first since the 2019-20 season.
After the match, outside hitter Nnya Mbaoma and setter Jayden Easingwood were named to the tournament All-Star Team. Middle blocker Sibby Bos was named the Blues game MVP for the finals. VIU setter Linnea Brickwood was named the tournament MVP.
On Friday night, the Blues defeated the tournament host and No. 2-seed Douglas College Royals by a 3-1 score in the PACWEST semifinals to get into the gold-medal game.
Capilano went up two sets to none, dropped the third but closed out the match with a tidy fourth set. Mbaoma finished with 16 kills while outside hitter Vanesa Gatto was named Game MVP after eight kills and her standard first-touch expertise and exceptional passing.
Next up is the CCAA national championship happening Mar. 6 to 9 in Red Deer, Alta. The Blues will be a wildcard team in the event as the PACWEST silver medalist and will likely face a difficult matchup in their first game.
This is the first time Capilano has gone to the nationals since 2014, when it was hosted by Seneca College in Toronto. The Blues only medal at nationals to date came in 2007 when they took silver in a tournament hosted at CapU.
