ABBOTSFORD, B.C. — The Winnipeg Wesmen will enter the final month of Canada West play in need of a string of wins to make the postseason. 

The Wesmen women's volleyball team fell short in an extended first set and never recovered, dropping a 3-0 (29-27, 25-15, 25-19) Canada West conference decision to the Fraser Valley Cascades Friday night.

The loss set Winnipeg back to 6-12 and the Wesmen failed to gain any ground on the teams ahead of them, all of whom were on a bye this weekend. They now sit a match behind Saskatchewan, UBCO and Calgary who are all tied at 7-11 in a race for two of the final playoff positions. 

The Wesmen hit a respectable .221 for the night, including .353 in the first set when they rallied from 21-16 down and eventually tied the set at 22. They had set points at 24-23 and 27-26, but failed to put it away.

And there was no bounce-back in the second set. Winnipeg hit .067 with six attacking errors while UFV (15-3) had 15 kills on 32 swings with just two errors.

Selva Planincic had 11 kills and 11 digs while hitting .417, her second-highest percentage of the season. Brooke Duncalfe added nine kills and Jaya Dzikowicz eight. 

The Cascades, who now sit in third place in the conference, got 16 kills from Gabrielle Attieh and 10 from Lauren Attieh.

The Wesmen, who have six matches remaining, next face the Manitoba Bisons for a home-and-home series that goes Friday at U of M and Saturday at the Duckworth Centre.