The Mariners’ men’s volleyball team is off to a strong start to the regular season. The team has played six games this season and has been victorious five times. The team’s lone loss on the season was against Camosun in the team’s home opener on October 18 against the Camosun Chargers.
The Mariners’ most recent action was at home against the Fraser Valley Cascades on October 31 and November 1.
On Friday, the Mariners picked up a hard-fought victory. The Mariners took control of the game early, winning the first set convincingly 25-14. The second set was much closer, but the Mariners won the second set as well, 25-23. The Mariners looked to put the game away in the third set, but the Cascades didn’t go down without a fight. Fraser Valley dominated the third set, winning by a score of 25-15. The Cascades managed to force a fifth and deciding set with a 25-16 victory in the fourth set.
The fifth and final set went right down to the wire, but eventually the Mariners picked up the victory, winning the set 16-14.
The two teams were back in action the next afternoon. The first set was tied early, until the Mariners went on a seven point run, opening up a big lead and holding on to win the first set 25-19. The second set tightly contested, but with the Cascades leading 24-22 late in the set, the Mariners went on a run, fighting back to capture the second set 27-25. But unlike the previous night, there was no frantic comeback by the Cascades; instead, the Mariners captured the final set 25-21, winning the match 3-0. With the victory, the Mariners swept the weekend series with the Cascades, winning both games.
The Mariners are currently first in the PacWest standings with a record of 5-1. VIU is two points ahead of second place Douglas Royals. However, the Royals have played two less games and hold a record of 4-0.
The Mariners are away for the next few weeks and won’t play again at home until November 21 and 22 when VIU takes on Douglas. Friday’s game starts at 8 pm, while Saturday’s game begins at 3 pm. All Mariners’ home games are at the VIU gym.
