CALGARY – Exactly one year later, the Calgary Dinos men's volleyball team finds itself a familiar situation.

Last season, the Dinos finished with a 13-5 record, grabbed second place in the Canada West standings, and prepared to host a team headquartered in Winnipeg. In 2009-10, the Dinos finished with a 13-5 record, grabbed second place in the Canada West standings, and are preparing to host a team headquartered in Winnipeg. Except this time, they hope the result is different.

Last season's upset loss in an epic conference quarterfinal to the Winnipeg Wesmen has been the driving motivator behind the Dinos this year, and they finally get the chance to redeem themselves when the Manitoba Bisons pay a visit for a best-of-three series this weekend.

Action opens on Thursday with a 7 p.m. start, followed by a 5:30 p.m. first serve on Friday. If necessary, Game 3 is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. All matches take place in the Jack Simpson Gym, and all three will be webcast live at www.educationcdn.com/schools/dinos.

Calgary got a measure of revenge over the Wesmen two weeks ago to clinch second place, dominating Winnipeg on the road with 3-1 and 3-0 victories. That finish kept the Dinos above a wild fray below them in the standings and drew the seventh-seeded Bisons (9-9) for the opening round of the playoffs.

The Dinos had little trouble with the Bisons in the regular season, sweeping them with 3-0 and 3-1 victories at home Nov. 6-7. But the playoffs are a different animal, and Manitoba presents a dangerous threat that Calgary will need to be prepared for.

The Bisons limped through the second half of the season with a 4-5 record, with their only wins coming against UBC and Saskatchewan – both teams that missed the playoffs. In total, only three of the Bisons' nine wins on the year came against teams that are still alive as the post-season ends: one each against Brandon, Trinity Western, and Winnipeg.

Led by Joseph Brooks and Dane Pischke, the Bisons were the top blocking team in the conference this season with 2.88 per set. Middle Steve Goertzen finished third in hitting percentage at .427, while Pischke led the way in the kills department with 3.13 per set – good enough for tenth-best in Canada West.

Twenty-nine year head coach Garth Pischke fields a young team with nine players in either their first or second year with only two in years four and five. Contrast that to the veteran-laden Dinos, who will graduate six fifth-year seniors after the season – a season that they hope will take them back to the CIS championship for the first time since 2003.

Oleg Podporin, Calgary's fifth-year middle, led Canada West in hitting percentage this season with a solid .453 while David Egan finished eighth in that category at .374. The Dinos will look to establish their middle attack early, using the speed of their offence to limit the Bisons' opportunities for transition.

Other series this weekend have Thompson Rivers visiting Brandon while Winnipeg heads to Trinity Western. The three series winners will join first-place Alberta at the Canada West Final Four next weekend, from which they would hope to advance to the CIS championship in Kamloops. Should CIS host Thompson Rivers advance to the Final Four, all four teams there would qualify for nationals. However, if Brandon defeats TRU this weekend, only the top three finishers at the conference tournament next week would advance to Kamloops.

-UC-