Brent Mutis, CapU sport info & compliance officer
Drawing out the end of their Blues volleyball careers as long as they could go, Jenson Yuen and James Fong helped Capilano push the top-ranked Camosun College Chargers to five sets Saturday before falling short.
The visitors took the first two sets before the Blues came to life. Down two sets to none, CapU dug in for a lengthy third set that went to extra points. A huge tandem block from Fong and Jesse Lee earned the Blues the third frame.
MVB | The Blues take the third set 26-24 but still trail the @CamosunChargers 2-1. Let's see if we can take this to 5 sets! #GoBlues #NorthVan #CapilanoU pic.twitter.com/KMQv72VkqE
— Capilano University Blues (@CapilanoBlues) February 19, 2023
In the fourth, the Blues got the better of the Chargers again with one of their most impressive sets of the season as they recorded 11 kills to Camosun's four. An ace from Jonah Violini, which painted the back line of the floor, setting the stage for a deciding fifth set.
MVB | Our wish has been granted, we're going to a fifth set after taking the fourth 25-20! #GoBlues #CapU pic.twitter.com/D0gkBa0Wi3
— Capilano University Blues (@CapilanoBlues) February 19, 2023
The teams went point for point in the fifth set to 15 but with the set locked 13-13, the Chargers put away the final two points to earn a hard-fought win.
Stephen Searcy wound up the leader in kills Saturday with 10 while Yuen, Fong and Violini each had three aces. Yuen saw time on the outside while Violini was in at setter; the former recorded a career-high nine kills while the latter had a season- and career-best 22 assists.
Friday night, in the first game of the weekend, the Chargers took the match in straight sets. Colby Soolsma had six kills on the night while Jakob Leinemann registered two solo blocks.
The PACWEST provincial championships are Feb. 24-25 at College of the Rockies in Cranbrook, B.C. The CCAA men's national championship is March 8 to 11, hosted by Humber College in Toronto, Ont.
