CALGARY – They were separated by the slimmest of margins through the 20-match regular season, and now they're paired together in a best-of-three series to decide a trip to the national championship.

The Calgary Dinos and Brandon Bobcats, ranked sixth and seventh in the nation, respectively, renew acquaintances this weekend in a Canada West quarterfinal series in the Jack Simpson Gym. The best-of-three series opens Friday night at 7 p.m., with game two Saturday at the same time. If the series goes to a deciding game three, it will be played Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. All games will be webcast live on CanadaWest.tv.

Calgary and Brandon finished with identical 11-9 records on the season, finishing tied for fourth place and the hosting berth that comes with it. The Dinos, thanks to their superior sets won/lost differential, earned the right to host the series, albeit by the slimmest of margins: Calgary won 39 and lost 34, while Brandon went 40-37.

It's the first time the Dinos and Bobcats have met in a playoff series, but they're certainly no strangers to each other. A year ago, Calgary defeated Brandon in a five-setter at the Main Gym in Edmonton to capture the Canada West championship, while Brandon went on to take CIS silver while Calgary settled for bronze at the national tournament.

The Dinos and Bobcats met earlier in the season, also in the Jack Simpson Gym, with each team taking a 3-1 win to split the series. And with so little separating these teams through the course of 20 conference matches, don't be surprised to see this one head the full three-match distance. One thing is certain: one of the medallists from last year's CIS championship won't be making a return trip when the national tournament convenes at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont. March 2-4.

Other series this weekend see UBC visiting Alberta and upstart UBC Okanagan travelling to take on the Manitoba Bisons. The three series winners will meet next weekend with the first-place Trinity Western Spartans at the Canada West Final Four in Langley, B.C.

Here's a look at the two teams:

No. 6 CALGARY DINOS
Conference record: 11-9
Conference standings: 4th
Last week: swept Regina (3-0, 3-0)

The defending Canada West champion Dinos snapped a four-game losing skid to close the regular season last week, handling the Regina Cougars without too much trouble with a pair of straight-sets victories on the road.

Last year's CIS player of the year, Graham Vigrass, had a sensational weekend for Calgary, recording 22 and 12 kills on consecutive nights to average 5.67 per set. Fellow fifth-year senior Allen Meek added 21 kills on the weekend as the Dinos hit at a better than .350 clip on the weekend to right the ship and host a playoff series for the fourth consecutive year.

Calgary posted a 4-4 record after Christmas, sweeping Saskatchewan to open the second half and then Regina to close, with those four straight losses to Alberta and Trinity Western sandwiched in between. Despite their struggles, they remained in the Top 10 throughout and moved up a spot from No. 7 to No. 6 after sweeping the Cougars.

Vigrass had another all-star calibre season, finishing fifth in the conference in hitting percentage at .330 and boasting the most kills (204) of any player in the top five in that category. One of five fifth-year seniors on the team, a list that also includes setter Jay Blankenau, right side Allen Meek, libero Jace Richards, and left side Levi Nutma. Nutma had his best outing of the season in Calgary's win over Brandon back on Nov. 18, with 16 kills on 22 swings in a 3-1 (21-25, 27-25, 25-20, 25-18) Dinos victory to open that series.

The Dinos are looking to make their third straight appearance at the CIS championship tournament after winning medals in both previous trips: gold in 2010 (Kamloops, B.C.) and bronze in 2011 (Langley, B.C.).

No. 7 BRANDON BOBCATS
Conference record: 11-9
Conference standings: 5th
Last week: split with Alberta (W 3-1, L 0-3)

The Bobcats had their destiny in their own hands last weekend but were unable to take advantage and therefore must travel west to face the Dinos this weekend for a chance to return to the national tournament.

Brandon upset Alberta with a 3-1 (25-22, 25-20, 23-25, 25-21) win Friday night before falling in straight sets to the Golden Bears (25-21, 25-21, 25-16) Saturday night on a night when a win would have guaranteed them a home playoff date. It was a disappointing end to a phenomenal second half of the season: Brandon opened the year with a 2-7 record, then caught fire to finish 9-2 in their last 11.

The Bobcats are led by middle Jon Sloane, the most accurate attacker in the conference this season at .468, along with freshman New Zealander Ben Glue, whose 3.61 kills per set were fifth-best in the conference. Countryman Sam Tuivai is also a threat on the outside with his 3.44 kills per set after joining the team midway through the season. The pair is among a group of five players on the Bobcats hailing from the Southern Hemisphere, including three Aussies: Craig Lowe, Luke Reynolds, and Brendan White.

-UC-