The VIU gym was filled with good vibes that carried onto the court.
Vancouver Island University’s women’s and men’s volleyball teams won all their matches – and all their sets, too – against the College of the Rockies Avalanche to start the PacWest season.
VIU’s women won Saturday by scores of 25-18, 25-15, 25-23, then followed up Sunday by winning 25-19, 25-23, 25-17.
The weekend started with a special ceremony as the 2015-16 VIU Mariners women’s volleyball team watched their Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association national championship banner raised to the ceiling.
“It was a pretty cool experience…” said Mikayla Wagner, VIU player. “It was nice to have the crowd and it got us fired up.”
Shane Hyde, M’s coach, said going into the match he was concerned about how his team might come out to play considering it was opening night with a banner-raising, but players were ready to go from the first serve.
“We were pretty much error-free,” he said. “We looked like how we did ending last season.”
Defensively, nothing scored easily, and offensively, the Mariners’ serving was tough, the setting was a strength and “we had hitters coming from every angle at them,” Hyde said.
The compete level impressed him, though he said the team was more sluggish in Sunday’s rematch.
“Still really good things, but I thought we made a few unforced errors that we didn’t see the night before,” he said.
The Mariners men, meanwhile, won their matches by scores of 25-18, 25-11, 25-22 and 25-13, 25-11, 25-21.
GAME ON … The Mariners volleyball teams play the Camosun Chargers in a home-and-home series Friday (Oct. 21) and Saturday. Friday’s matches are at VIU; the women play at 6 p.m. and the men take the court at 8 p.m.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com