Royals basketball, volleyball set for final weekend of regular season

This weekend marks the final regular season games of the 2018-19 regular season for PACWEST volleyball and basketball. Both the men's and women's volleyball teams come into the weekend on a tear, with the men's team riding an enormous 10-game winning streak and the women's team dropping just a single set on their own four-game streak after going perfect last weekend against the Cascades.

Women's volleyball has dropped a set just once in the past two weeks, on the road against the Bearcats after dominating the first two sets of the game en route to a weekend sweep of CBC. Their performance against the UFV Cascades this past weekend saw no such blip. The Royals won both their weekend games in straight sets, starting on Friday with a 25-19, 25-20, 20-16 win in which UFV's only leads came off of opening service - once the Royals took the lead, they simply held it until the end of the set. The wealth was spread around in terms of kills with seven players recording at least one, but the most standout performance was Vania Oliveira's defensive effort, recording 14 digs from the outside hitter position. 

UFV kept things closer in the second set, but couldn't manage to come away with a set win as the Royals held the fort with a 25-22, 25-23, 25-21 victory. Trisha He recorded a huge 16 digs, Vania scored 10 kills, and Jane Kepler added 22 assists. 

The Royals face 8-14 Capilano this week, playing Thursday evening in North Van before heading home for a 4PM matchup to close out the regular season. 

Men's volleyball crushed the UFV Cascades on Friday, winning in straight sets while preventing their opponents from scoring more than 20 points in all three sets. Reid Marriott led the way with 13 kills while Max Haronga added 8, and Ben Shand dropped in 4 aces. 

On Saturday, the Royals dropped the first four points of the evening and never closed the gap in the opening set, losing 21-25, but came roaring back with three straight wins, including an emphatic 25-16 victory in the fourth set to clinch the tenth straight victory for Douglas. Marriott was unstoppable with 23 kills, with Haronga also having a monster game scoring 16. Jared Collin tied his season high in assists with 46, reaching the mark for the third time this season. 

The Royals will be well-tested in the final series of the regular season with a home-and-away series against 17-5 Capilano. The Blues host on Thursday before the Royals close out the season at home on Sunday at 6PM. 

The basketball teams had bye weeks, providing a nice chance to reset before closing out the season after a tough weekend of matchups with the VIU Mariners, who own the top spots in both the women's and men's PACWEST basketball standings. Both Royals basketball teams were swept by the league leaders on the road, so a bye week may be just what the doctor ordered before the final week of play. The women's team faces 6-11 Langara on Friday at 6PM in New Westminster, while the men's side has a home-and-away with 0-16 CBC, with the home leg scheduled for 8PM on Friday.