The Capilano University women's volleyball team has had a bit of an up-and-down season.
Last weekend that trend looked like it was going to continue as the Blues beat Columbia Bible College at Capilano Sportsplex on Friday night but then fell behind 0-2 facing the same team the next night.
"We've been fighting ourselves," head coach Cal Wohlford had told the North Shore News after Friday night's game. "We've been losing a couple of matches because of our side of the court, not the other side of the court, so that's a little frustrating."
The frustration, however, turned around quickly Saturday as the Blues rallied to win the last three sets convincingly and claim a 3-2 victory.
The win moved the Blues to 10-8 for the season, four points back of the Camosun Chargers in a battle for third place in the PacWest league.
The comeback was nice for Capilano but Wohlford admitted he was hoping to be a little higher than fourth place with just three weeks to go before playoffs. The Blues finished fourth at provincials last year - Wohlford's first as head coach - and brought back most of their top players to a team that now has only one rookie and five players who are in at least their third season of college ball.
"I believed right from when we started with this team that we had a good chance of being first or second in provincials," said Wohlford. "I still believe that. When we're doing the right kinds of things we're a pretty good defensive team and our blocking is starting to come along."
The heart of that Capilano defence is fifth year libero Jacqueline Caverly who is again leading the league in digs. She's one of the rare players who can swing the momentum of a match without ever coming close to the net.
"It frustrates hitters when you keep getting digs," said Wohlford. "We're a strong defensive team. We do a pretty good job of keeping the ball alive."
Third year left side player Sara Pettersson, a native of Sweden who first suited up in Canada for Thompson Rivers University before switching to Capilano, is another strong defender who also can get in on the offence as well - she's 10th in the league in kills and can do a lot of damage with her back row hitting.
Leading the way offensively is fourth year left side player Sydney Thorton, a Nanaimo native who is fifth in the league in kills and eighth in total offence.
"She's very athletic, she's a pure power player," said Wohlford, adding that he was happy to see her come through with a lot of clutch points to finish off CBC on Friday night after struggling a bit at the start of the match. "She struggles at times, goes into the tank a little bit. .. (but) out of all three sets, she was performing at the end of the sets. That's what you want."
Other standouts include fourth year middle blocker Alicia Catalano, fourth in the league in blocks, and second year middle Kelsi Boroevich who is playing very solid volleyball as a starter on the team, said Wohlford.
Running the offence is Sarah Hughes, a second year player from Burnaby's St. Thomas More who is playing setter this season after playing mostly power hitter previously.
"Each match she's getting more confident," said Wohlford. "You can see she's starting to be more aggressive with setting balls. That'll pay well at the end of it."
The Blues are hoping to move into third place in the standings but to gain any ground this weekend they'll have to go on the road and beat the powerful University of the Fraser Valley Cascades who are tied for first in the league with Vancouver Island University. The Blues aren't counting on sweeping the Cascades but Wohlford is hoping his team can send a message in advance of the playoffs.
"We need to show that we can play with them and get that confidence, that little chip off the shoulder, of a team walking in here thinking that they're better than us."
It's all building towards the provincial playoffs which will be held on Capilano's home floor Feb. 20-22.
With their playoff berth locked up - six of the seven PacWest teams qualify for provincials - the Blues are now mostly just concerned about peaking at the right time.
"We just want to keep on getting a good rhythm, getting a good feel of winning games and winning some sets," said Wohlford, adding that he hopes home court advantage will be a real advantage for the Blues.
"I hope that we can get more people that love volleyball, that love watching athletic people play, to come out and check out the games," he said. "I think we do play well at home.. .. It's a better routine for us. We get to get into the gym in the morning and do some passing, stuff like that. I think that gets their heads into it."
The Blues will play three more times at home before the PacWest championships come to town. They host seventhplace College of the Rockies Feb. 6 and 7 and take on sixth-place Douglas Feb. 14.
