Skip to content

Port Coquitlam volleyballer makes PACWEST all-star team again

An injury cost Port Coquitlam’s Amanda Matsui the last seven games of the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades women’s volleyball team’s season. But it hasn’t cost her a spot on the PACWEST all-star team for the second straight season.
Amanda Matsui
Riverside grad Amanda Matsui goes up for a spike.

An injury cost Port Coquitlam’s Amanda Matsui the last seven games of the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades women’s volleyball team’s season. But it hasn’t cost her a spot on the PACWEST all-star team for the second straight season.

Matsui, a sophomore, was one of two Cascades players named to the first all-star team on Wednesday, while another was voted to the all-rookie team.

Despite her shortened schedule, Matsui finished second in the PACWEST in kills and total offensive points, while she ranked ninth in digs.

In fact, said Cascades’ coach Mike Gilray, Matsui’s absence underscored her importance to the team, which is seeded fourth heading into the PACWEST championships this week in Cranbrook.

“Seeing her near the top of all those stats is incredible,” Gilray said. “We were able to see the impact she has on our team, and it’s really important that people recognize the role she played.”

Matsui’s success on the volleyball court has come despite being dogged by injuries. In fact, it was an injury that got her to UFV in the first place.

The Riverside grad lost an opportunity to study and play at Vancouver Island University because of a year-long rehabilitation from knee surgery after she injured the joint playing basketball. She considered enrolling at Douglas College but a meeting with Gilray steered her to his program at UFV, and a conditioning trip to the beaches of California with some of her new teammates restored her confidence in her ability to still be a force on the volleyball court.

Matsui, a two-time all-star at the AAAA high school provincials, finished her first season at UFV third in total offensive stats in the PACWEST, and she was one of only three players to finish in the top 10 in total offence, kills, acres and digs. Those accomplishments earned her a spot on the all-rookie team.

Matsui then helped lead her team to a third place finish at last year’s PACWEST championship that was hosted by the Cascades. It was their first podium in five years.

UFV will begin its quest to ascend another step or two of that podium on Thursday at 1 p.m. in a quarter-final match against Capilano University.