The College of the Rockies Avalanche didn’t have the best start to the new PACWEST semester, as the Men’s and Women’s Volleyball teams only managed to win one of their eight combined games over the weekend on their final road trip of the season.
Opening the second half of their PACWEST season on the coast, the Avalanche battled the Douglas College Royals on Thursday and Friday in New Westminster before Saturday and Sunday’s matchups against the Capilano University Blues in North Vancouver.
Men’s Avalanche
The Men’s Avalanche sought to pick up where they left off after winning their final two matches of the fall semester against the Camosun College Chargers. Those pair of wins back on November 22nd and 23rd snapped the Avalanche’s six-match losing slide.
Entering New Westminster on Thursday and Friday, the Avalanche were gearing up for a pair of matchups against the Conference’s top team. The Men’s Avalanche would fall 3-1 and 3-2 to Douglas College. Gustavo Bertolli led the Avalanche with 25 kills in the two matches against the Royals.
Hoping to bounce back on Saturday and Sunday, the Avalanche would instead drop their next two matches to the Capilano University Blues, getting swept 3-0, 3-0.
The Men’s Avalanche are now 4-14 in the PACWEST with six games remaining and sit sixth of seventh in the Conference approaching the end of the regular season.
Back at College of the Rockies this weekend, the Avalanche get set to battle the last-place Columbia Bible College Bearcats (1-13) at 8:00 pm on Friday and 3:00 pm on Saturday.
Women’s Avalanche
The Women’s Avalanche entered the weekend on a two-match winning streak from their pair of wins at the end of November to close the PACWEST’s fall semester. Their 3-1, 3-1 victories over the Camosun College Chargers helped the team snap a four-match losing skid and gave the team some much-needed momentum heading into the exam break after starting their season 4-4.
Battling the Douglas College Royals on Thursday and Friday, the Avalanche stumbled 3-1 and 3-2. Ecaterina Arabadji had 33 kills and 30 digs for the Avalanche in the pair of losses while Taylor Whittall had 26 kills and 21 digs, followed by another 26 combined digs from the defensive leader Megan Clark.
With the strong performances from Arabadji, Whittall, and Clark despite the losses to Douglas College, the trio helped lead the Avalanche to a 3-0 sweep of Capilano on Saturday in North Vancouver, before falling 3-0 on Sunday to close out their weekend road trip. Arabadji (19K, 25D), Whittall (21K, 19D), and Clark (17D) once again led the Avalanche in the pair of matches.
The Women’s Avalanche are currently 7-11 in the PACWEST, holding on to fifth place in the Conference. The team could easily jump multiples spots with a successful finish to their season as the Douglas College Royals (8-7) and University of Fraser Valley Cascades (8-9) current sit third and fourth in the PACWEST.
The Avalanche host the Columbia Bible College Bearcats (2-12) at College of the Rockies on Friday and Saturday, opening action at 6:00 pm and 1:00 pm respectively.