KELOWNA, B.C. – The UBC Okanagan Heat men's volleyball team continued their outstanding form on Saturday afternoon at the UBCO Gymnasium as they beat the UFV Cascades in three sets (25-21, 25-19, 25-17) to sweep the weekend doubleheader between the two squads.
The victory moved the Heat to 6-2 on the season, marking the best start to a Canada West season through eight games in program history. The win also kept the Heat in sole possession of fourth place in the conference as the team nears the halfway point of the regular season.
The Heat were dominant in nearly every aspect of the game on Saturday. The team hit .260 percent compared to the Cascades .088 percent while also outpacing the visitors in aces (6-2) and blocks (9-6).
Thys Weststrate of Kelowna, B.C., who returned from injury this weekend, put together another outstanding performance to earn player of the game honours. The third-year middle had seven kills on nine attempts, hitting .556 percent, while adding two aces, six total blocks and a dig for a team-high 12.5 points.
He now sits alone in first place in the conference for blocks per set at 1.22 while his 0.5 aces per set ranks him third in Canada West.
Setter
Zach van Geel of Calgary once again spread the ball around efficiently in the match, posting 25 assists as he now sits fourth in Canada West for assists per set at 8.93.
Jack Taylor of Winnipeg posted a team-best nine kills for the Heat while
Seba Manuel of Kelowna, B.C., chipped in with eight.
Nimo Benne of Castricum, The Netherlands and Roan McCarthy of Lake Country, B.C., paced the Cascades attack with eight kills apiece.
Winners of three straight matches, the Heat will look to continue their winning ways on the road next weekend when they head to Calgary to take on the Dinos for their final two games before the holiday break.
Game one of the weekend doubleheader is set for 6:30 p.m. PT on Friday, November 29 and the action can be seen live on CanadaWest.tv presented by BioSteel.
