Chris Raeside, CapU Athletic Events and Sport Development Officer,
Blues volleyball teams earn split in weekend home opener
Both the men's and women's volleyball teams came out firing on Friday as they both defeated the Camosun College Chargers 3-1 to improve their records to 3-0. However, Sunday would be different as the Chargers rebounded to defeat the Blues 3-0 on the women's side and 3-2 on the men's side completing the comeback after being down 2-0.
The Blues also took the opportunity to celebrate their 2020-21 CCAA National Scholars honouring their commitment to academic success.
The CCAA National Scholar Award recognizes the outstanding academic accomplishments of student-athletes. To be recognized as a CCAA National Scholar, student-athletes must achieve honours standing which is a grade-point average of 3.50 or better for the academic year.
The 37 Blues awarded ties for the most in the PACWEST conference and is an increase from the 26 Blues listed for the 2019-20 year.
Women Volleyball
The women's side dropped the first set in their 2021-22 home opener on Friday, November 12th but rallied three straight wins afterwards to take the match 3-1. On Saturday, November 13th, the Blues dropped the first set again and looked to repeat the prior day's performance but couldn't quite get the momentum on their side and dropped the following three sets for a 3-1 loss to split their weekend matches against the visiting Camosun College Chargers.
Leading the way for the Blues was Maya Griffith. Griffith was a key contributor in the Blues victory over the Camosun College Chargers on Friday. She tallied 17 of the Blues 45 kills nearly tripling that of any other Blue thanks to setter Kelsey Towers balanced attack. She also contributed two blocks.
Men's Volleyball
The men began their home opener with a moment we've been awaiting for 608 days, celebrating their team's 2020 CCAA National Championship victory.
On March 14, 2020, the Blues won their first National Championship defeating the Humber College Hawks of Etobicoke, Ont. in straight sets (25-15, 25-18, 25-19).
On Friday, the Blues raised their banner to the ceiling in a short presentation featuring a few words from then head coach, Dave Dooley, finally getting the opportunity to cherish their achievement.
The men then took care of business defeating the Chargers 3-1 in a spirited match but the Chargers would be unfazed on Saturday after going down 2-0. They successfully rallied back to defeat the Blues 3-2 bring the Blues to 3-1 on the season.
Leading the way for the Blues was starting setter Jenson Yuen. Taking over starting setter duties from long-time Blues standout Simon Friesen, Yuen had huge shoes to fill and did a good job of it last weekend. The third-year Blue set an effectively balanced attack for the Blues on Friday that saw three outside hitters tally 12 kills each leaving the Chargers uncertain where to defend. He added an impressive 13 blocks on Friday and an additional 5 blocks on Saturday to go along with his weekend accumulation of 20 digs, three kills and one ace.
The Blues are back in action at the Centre for Sport and Wellness on December 3rd against the visiting Vancouver Island University Mariners after a trio of road games to finish off their November schedule.
All 2021-22 Game Day live streams can be found on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIUyy14jdnfjiGQGRqJxavg
