On Friday, November 29th the Avalanche were in North Vancouver, facing off against the #9 team in the country, the Capilano University Blues. The Av's had a sluggish start on Friday evening, working to settle into the game but having a difficult time finding their rhythm offensively. Down 0-2 the Av's found their game and took over the next two sets to bring the game to 5th set. With the game on the line, the Blues went on a couple of major serving runs, defeating the Av's 3-2. Four Avalanche players earned double digit points: Rylee Bell (16), Ella Nichols (14), Alisia Dvorak (12), and Kayla Brasok (10).
"We had high expectations this weekend and unfortunately things didn't quite work out the way we were hoping," said coach Bryan Fraser. "Our travel was as smooth as could be, and we felt we matched up against this team nicely. Due to some injuries, we played with a different lineup than we've used so far this year due and felt good with a few different options. Despite that, we didn't get comfortable on the court until the 3rd set, and made things really difficult on ourselves in terms of making the full comeback."
On Saturday afternoon the Av's and the Blues faced off again. The Blues and Avs split the first two sets to tie the game 1-1 before Capilano went on to win the next two sets thanks to some stellar serving runs that the Av's couldn't get out of quickly enough. Stevie Friesen passed great in the game with a 2.0 pass rating. Rylee Bell and Hannah Zurakowski each had a team high 8 digs.
"Saturday we just missed opportunities early to end Cap's serving runs, which allowed them to find and maintain big leads in each of the three sets we lost," Fraser added. "While we have lots to work on for the second half, I'm happy with the progress we've made so far this season and excited to start again in the new year with some fresh bodies and minds."