Ben Chessor
The Navigator
The Mariners women’s volleyball team returned from winter break and picked up right where they left off. VIU picked up convincing victories in both their matches on January 10 and 11. The victories allowed the Mariners to take over top spot in the PacWest standings.
The Mariners’ first game of the second semester was on Friday, January 10, against the visiting Douglas College Royals. The Mariners jumped out to an early lead, winning the first set 25-14. The Royals battled back and took the second set 25-20. But the Mariners stepped up and dominated the third set, winning by a score of 25-11. With the fourth set tied at 25-25, the set went into a tie breaker. The Mariners outlasted Douglas in the tie-breaker and picked up the victory in the fourth set 29-27. The win in the fourth set gave the Mariners a 3-1 victory.
The Mariners and Royals were back in action again the next day. Just like Friday, the Mariners came out strong and won the first set, this time by the dominating score of 25-9. In the second set, Douglas jumped out to a 7-1 lead, but the Mariners didn’t quit as they battled back to win the second set 26-24. VIU completed the sweep in the third set, winning the set 25-22 and the game 3-0.
With the two victories, the Mariners’ record is now 14-2 in the season, good for first place in the PacWest standing. The Mariners sit four points ahead of second place UFV Cascades, who have a record of 12-2 in the season. The Cascades have played two less games than VIU.