The CBC Bearcats men’s volleyball team (14-13) capped off their season with 3-0 defeat at the hands of the VIU Mariners (17-10) this afternoon in the PACWEST bronze medal game (25-22, 28-26, 27-25). The Bearcats never beat the Mariners in five opportunities this season, although they pushed hard in every match.CBC started without fizz, perhaps still a little discombobulated by last night’s 3-1 loss to the Douglas Royals, and quickly fell behind. VIU relied on a consistent block and efficient hitting to wrack up points, and the Bearcats simply couldn’t match their production. CBC Player of the Game Josh Goossen was once again a solid producer from the right flank, keeping his team in the contest despite some misfiring.The Bearcats haven’t been quite the same squad since the injury to Brendan Folkerts and the roster shuffles caused by his departure. While CBC is a formidable team when healthy, a lack of personnel and a plethora of injuries really hurt the team this season. Still, the Bearcats fought bravely in the face of adversity this afternoon, just as they have all year.

They rebounded in the second set and pushed it into extra points, but, up 25-24, missed a critical kill that would have tied the match at one set apiece. In the third the Mariners scraped out a 27-25 win to sweep the match and escape with the bronze medals. The Bearcats, who entered the tournament ranked fourth in the nation, were left with good memories but little else.

Taylor Klassen played at libero for the Bearcats, while Josh Goossen hammered down 22 kills for the ‘Cats (quite an accomplishment in three sets).

The match was also the last appearance of veteran Bearcat Jason Warkentin in the CBC uniform. Warkentin travelled to two national CCAA national championships with the Bearcats, and is the last member of the team to have been part of the 2010-2011 national championship-winning squad.

The CBC Bearcats men’s volleyball team defied expectations all season long despite significant injuries at key positions, but they couldn’t quite conjure the magic to defeat the nationally top-ranked Douglas Royals in tonight’s PACWEST semi-final. The CCAA defending champions fought the Bearcats to a 3-1 defeat (14-25, 25-20, 17-25, 23-35), snatching away a chance at a trip to the CCAA National Championships, and consigning them to tomorrow’s bronze medal match.Leigh Goossen (9 kills, 6 blocks) and relative Josh Goossen (13 kills) were once again the heroes offensively for the Bearcats, although setter Jason Warkentin and captain Taylor Klassen also produced highlight-reel moments in their own roles.After a mediocre first set, CBC roared back to a second-set victory that obviously disconcerted the Royals. Still, the powerful serving prowess of Douglas’ lineup proved a difficult challenge for the Bearcats, who were still playing without a true libero. CBC built an early lead in the third set, only to see it erased by Carson Heppell’s top-spinny, side-spinny delivery. Hepell manufactured a critical momentum shift that buoyed the Royals to an eventual 25-17 set victory.

In the fourth the Bearcats tried the opposite of their third set approach, spotting the Royals an early 5-0 lead and then fighting their way back into contention. CBC narrowed the gap to 13-10 with Warkentin serving, and then managed to tie the match at 20 on a monstrous Josh Goossen kill. After fighting to a 22-20 advantage, a Douglas timeout and a missed Bearcat serve seemed to turn the tide. After ties at 22, and 23, the Royals managed a two-point run to take the match.

The Bearcats will play one last match at Camosun College for bronze Saturday against the VIU Mariners at 3 p.m. Watch online at www.sportscanada.tv/pacwest

The CBC Bearcats men’s volleyball team recently climbed to fourth in the national rankings thanks to an explosive 10-3 run since Christmas, but tonight found themselves tested nonetheless by an unranked yet precocious UFV Cascades squad. The two teams were playing in the sudden-death quarter-finals of the 2014-2015 PACWEST Volleyball Championships as the fourth (CBC) and fifth (UFV) seeds, and competing for the honour of facing the top-ranked team in Canada, the Douglas Royals, in tomorrow’s semi-final. The Bearcats pulled out a win in five sets (20-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-27, 15-10) to keep their season alive.Along with their formidable ranking, the Bearcats were also the recipient of three PACWEST awards this week as they geared up for playoffs. Middle Leigh Goossen was named a PACWEST first team all-star, while cousin Josh Goossen was named to the second all-star team. Teammate Mitchell Erickson was honoured with a position on the all-rookie team.The Bearcats built a modest lead in the first set of tonight’s match and traded points to an 11-8 advantage. Unfortunately, at that point the wheels fell off the bus, the brakes failed, and most of the seats spontaneously combusted. The Cascades went on an 11-point tear to take a 19-11 stranglehold on the set before CBC’s Curtis Stelzer finally blocked a middle hit to end the massacre. The Bearcats fought back to 21-17, but eventually lost the set 25-20.

In the second CBC managed to shake off some of the jitters and played a different level of volleyball. The Bearcats matched the Cascades point-by-point, but pulled ahead in the endgame to a 22-20 lead. UFV grabbed the next point to keep things interesting, but then CBC’s Taylor Klassen smashed home an errant dig from the UFV back row to begin nailing the coffin. The Bearcats won the set 25-22 to pull even with their Abbotsford rivals.

CBC also won the third set, but UFV rallied behind the serving prowess of Adam Chaplin in the fourth to pull out a 27-25 victory and even the match at two sets apiece to force an all-important fifth set. Chaplin used his monster serve to ignite several runs, and the Bearcats, still using libero Erickson as left side due to an injury to Brendan Folkerts, couldn’t break in time.

Despite their late-game troubles, CBC controlled the final set from the very beginning. After accumulating an early 7-4 lead, the ‘Cats went on to claim the set 15-10 and the match 3-2.

Jason Warkentin was named the Bearcats’ Player of the Game. Klassen finished with 12 kills, while Josh Goosen had 15.

“We talk a lot about just playing the next point,” said CBC coach Phil Wiens, whose team met the business end of several big UFV runs during the evening. “No matter what point it is in the match, just get that point.”

The Bearcats will need to be at their best tomorrow at 8:00 pm when they face the top-ranked Douglas Royals. All matches are at Camosun College (Victoria) but will be streamed online at www.sportscanada.tv/pacwest.