Avalanche Close Regular Season With Back-to-Back Thrillers in North Vancouver
Photo Credit - Chris Raeside, Capilano Blues
With first place already secured, the COTR Avalanche travelled to North Vancouver aiming to keep momentum rolling into the PACWEST Championships — and their final regular-season weekend delivered exactly the kind of intensity expected between two semifinal-bound teams. The opening match on Friday showcased high-level volleyball from the start, with the Avs coming out sharp behind a dominant presence through the middle. Luke Margenau set the tone early with six points in the first set, and alongside fellow second-year middle Julius Molnar, continued to apply pressure as COTR built a convincing 2–0 lead.
Capilano, however, showed their trademark resilience at home. A late push in the third set and a string of Avalanche errors shifted momentum to the Blues, who rode that wave into the fourth to force a fifth and deciding set. But despite the swing in energy, the first-place Avs responded like a veteran group. They jumped ahead 9–4 in the tiebreaker and held firm, with Dylan Annala hammering his seventh kill of the fifth set to seal the victory. Annala finished with 24 kills, three aces and seven digs, while Diego Policarpo and Margenau contributed 21 and 18 points respectively. Setter Boston Thiessen recorded a season-high 54 assists, and libero Reece Clarke anchored the backcourt with 12 digs.
"That was a high-level volleyball game," said head coach Cisco Farrero. "Capilano pushed us to the brink and we had to elevate late — and we did. Our attack through the middle was great, Boston had everything going, and even though we struggled to slow Cap at times, Dylan took over that fifth set and they had no answer."
The energy carried into Saturday, even with the standings locked and a semifinal rematch already guaranteed. The Blues came out inspired and took the opening set before the Avs responded behind Policarpo, whose back-row kill secured a 25–23 second-set win. Capilano then jumped out quickly in the third, building a 6–1 lead and eventually going ahead 2–1 in the match.
From there, Policarpo completely changed the tone of the gym. After a slow personal start, he erupted in the fourth set and — on his 12th kill — officially became the PACWEST all-time career kills leader, reaching 1308 and adding another milestone to his decorated career. The Avs rode that emotional spark to a dominant 25–16 finish to force the weekend's second consecutive fifth set.
COTR carried their momentum into the tiebreaker, racing ahead 5–0 before holding off a late Blues run. Fittingly, it was Policarpo who delivered the final kill, sealing a 15–12 victory and the program's record-setting 17th regular-season win. Annala surpassed the 300-kill mark for the season with another team-leading performance (21 kills), while Margenau and Jack Schmeiss combined for 18 points through the middle. Thiessen added 52 assists, 10 digs and two aces, and Clarke once again led the defensive effort with 14 digs.
"This was an awesome weekend for our program," said Farrero. "Capilano pushed us hard twice, and our guys rose to the occasion both nights. Diego setting the career kills record in his best match of the season was special. Boston and Reece were as steady as ever, Jack was a huge spark, and Luke had a great weekend. Eleven different guys contributed — that's who we are. We wanted to get to 17 wins and set a new program record, and now it's time to turn our focus to the Conference Championships. We'll be prepared and confident."