Brent Mutis, CapU Sport Information & Compliance Officer
It was not the storybook sendoff the Capilano Blues would have liked for graduating outside hitter Jacob Hopkins as they fell 3-1 Saturday to the visiting Douglas College Royals.
A night after an impressive three-sets-to-one win over Douglas, the Blues (7-8 in PACWEST) couldn't complete the sweep as Douglas (10-5 in PACWEST) took the rematch getting solid offensive production from Greg Moore, Ben Shand and Lucas Sansone.
Douglas took the opening set in extra points 28-26 despite a hot streak of serves from CapU's Leonard Tesarik that saw him chalk up three of his four aces on the night.
The Blues won the second set, with Rafael Hilario putting away four of his 13 kills on the night. Jesse Lee was a big presence at the net getting in on two blocks including a solo.
In his final home game for Capilano, Hopkins recorded an ace plus seven kills which puts him fifth all-time in the Blues record book.
On Friday, the Blues got back in the win column after having dropped three consecutive PACWEST contests and showed some grit against Douglas, taking a three-sets-to-one win over the conference's second-place team.
The visitors won the opening set in extra points, 29-27, but CapU dug their heels in from that point on to take the next three sets.
Enis Besirevic (video clip below) gave the Blues a lift coming off the bench and scored three big kills in the second set while getting in on a block as well.
Hilario was in typical fine form, racking up 17 kills and one ace while getting in on four blocks including a huge solo stuff in the second set.
After Jenson Yuen got the start, Gabriel Canuto provided some solid relief in the setter's role and picked up four assists in the second set. The 6-foot-7 Brazilian also notched two kills and was in on a block.
Capilano went ahead with a third-set win, 25-20, with Lee picking up four of his nine kills on the night while Hilario had five kills in the third. Lee also had a pair of aces in the third set.
Ethan Apostoliuk was in the starting lineup and made his presence felt by getting in on three blocks.
The next action for the Blues will be at the PACWEST provincial championships which will be Feb. 24 to 26 at Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford.
A huge block by Enis Besirevic leads to @RoyalsAthletics timeout late in the fourth quarter! #GoBlues pic.twitter.com/Atf1rZBCyc Capilano University Blues (@CapilanoBlues) February 12, 2022
