The weekend of January 17 and 18, the Avalanche hosted Canada's #9 best college team, the Capilano Blues. The women's team finished the first half of the season with two away losses to Capilano. The first set of their re-match on the 17th, was one of the Av's best performances of the year. Maya Bowden had her first start and the team rallied around her and played in almost perfect harmony. After the first set the Blues also found a high level and both teams battled back and forth. The Blues were the better team at the end of the next three sets though and took the victory over the Av's 3-1. Ella Nichols had 15 kills, Hannah Zurakowski provided 26 assists, and Kayla Brasok took 3 blocks on the night.
On Saturday afternoon, the crowd was treated to a back-and-forth thriller with both teams playing excellent volleyball. The teams were so well-matched on this day, the match went all the way to extra points in the 5th set. The Avalanche had two match points but couldn't put the ball away and the Blues found a way to win the game and sweep the weekend. Ella Nichols had a career high 23 kills, Hannah Zurakowski grabbed 19 digs, and Hannah Gray passed 24 balls with a 2.25 pass rating.
"The weekend was really fun, despite the two losses," said coach Bryan Fraser. "We saw our team playing some of the best volleyball that I've had a chance to coach in my six years in Cranbrook. There were some small ball control and volleyball IQ things that cost us opportunities to take off in several sets, but the good news is that those are all things we can improve upon. We played together in a way that will allow us to get to that next level as we keep training and preparing for our next opponents. This next road trip will be difficult and important at the same time and I know this group will be keen to take on the challenge."
