CALGARY – The Dinos men's team finally hosts a home conference match this weekend as the Manitoba Bisons pay a visit to the Jack Simpson Gym for some doubleheader action this weekend.

Some of the best volleyball action Dinos fans saw in the Jack last season came against the Bisons, as the two Calgary teams both swept their Manitoba counterparts with three of the four matches going the maximum five sets. The women's matches, in particular, were very tight, with Manitoba fighting back from a 2-0 deficit in the opener to send it all the way to five sets.

The Dinos women (2-2) rebounded from their season-opening sweep at the hands of the Alberta Pandas to roll past the Simon Fraser Clan last weekend with a pair of 3-0 victories. The weekend moved the Dinos up one spot to No. 5 in the CIS national rankings after they had fallen to No. 6 a week earlier.

Sophomore right side Lindsey Doland has quietly been making a name for herself as she replaces the graduated Holly Harper, last season's conference MVP, and she has been the Dinos' top player so far. Doland is third in the conference in kills and fifth in hitting percentage, and impressive statistic for an outside hitter. Teammate Laura Littlejohn is second in hitting percentage at .410.

The Bisons enter the weekend with the same 2-2 record, splitting both their series so far. Manitoba opened the season with a 3-0 sweep at Regina before the Cougars turned the tables with a 3-0 sweep of their own the next night. A week later, the Bisons got past a tough Brandon team 3-2 on the opening night before falling 3-0 at home.

Kristi Hunter and Ashley Voth are the offensive catalysts for Manitoba, sitting in a tie for sixth in Canada West with 49 kills each. The Bisons are in a tie for No. 6 in the CIS rankings with the Regina Cougars.

On the men's side, the Dinos finally return to action for the first time since upsetting the top-ranked Alberta Golden Bears 3-0 two weeks ago in Edmonton. After a lengthy pre-season, Calgary took advantage of the off-week and will be fired up to open their home schedule against Manitoba.

The Dinos (1-1) spread out their offence effectively against the Bears two weeks ago and have four of the top 10 players in the conference when it comes to hitting percentage. Curtis James leads the way at .409, while David Egan, Oleg Podporin, and Graham Vigrass have also cracked the top 10.

The split at Alberta moved the Dinos up one spot to No. 3 in the national rankings, and they will host the fifth-ranked Manitoba Bisons this weekend.

Under 29-year head coach Garth Pischke, the Bisons have jumped out to a 3-1 record after the first two weeks, opening with a sweep of the lowly Regina Cougars followed by a home split with the Brandon Bobcats last weekend. Second-year middle Steve Goertzen has been their go-to man in the first two weeks, ranking second in the conference in blocks (21.0) and seventh in hitting percentage (.371).

The weekend series opens Friday night in the Jack Simpson Gym with the women's match at 6 p.m. and the men's immediately following. The series wraps up Saturday night.

-UC-