CALGARY – The Dinos volleyball teams are both in need of some wins this weekend, and they will need to defeat the Thompson Rivers WolfPack to do so.

First serve on Friday at the Jack Simpson Gymnasium will come from the men's side at 6 p.m., followed by the women's game at 7:30. On Saturday, the women will go first at an earlier start time at 5 p.m., with the men following at 6:30.

Thompson Rivers' women's team has yet to win a match all season long as their record stands at 0-16, with just one set victory over that span.

The Dinos come off some heartbreaking losses last weekend, where they fell in two five-set matches in a row to the UBC Okanagan Heat, who sit just ahead of them in the Canada West standings. The home stretch of the Dinos' regular season will be a fight for a playoff spot, as just two points separate four teams for the remaining playoff positions.

Courtney Dawson continues to be a standout this season for Calgary. She comes in at second in the conference in both hitting percentage and blocks. The second-year's hitting percentage is at .370 with 176 kills in 64 sets and she has recorded a total of 83 blocks on the season. That averages out to 1.30 blocks per set.

Setter Jordhynn Guy averages 9.25 assists per game, good for third in Canada West, and outside hitter Sarah Moncks ranks third in the conference in digs, averaging 3.25 a game.

The men's side is a bit of a different story. Just two wins separate the two teams competing against each other this weekend, with Thompson Rivers in ninth with six wins thus far, and Calgary with four.

The visiting WolfPack come off a weekend where they split matches with the UBC Thunderbirds, but since the break, have won just one of four matches.

The Dinos, on the other hand, defeated the last place UBC Okanagan Heat twice last weekend. They picked up their third and fourth wins of the season and will be looking to continue that win streak on Friday and Saturday.

Sean Martin and Greg Mann led the attack last weekend for Calgary. Martin picked up a team-high 17 points on Saturday, all in kills, and Mann's offence in the five-set thriller the previous night included a game-high 16.5 points on 13 kills, two aces and three block assists.

Jackson Maris' leadership in just his second year of eligibility continues to make the Dinos a threat as he picked up 32 assists on Friday and another 31 on Saturday. Libero Cory Meeuwisse hits the top ten in digs at no. 7, averaging 2.53 a set with a total of 124 thus far.

Calgary will be in tough next weekend where they will face some strong Trinity Western squads. They play in Langley, B.C. against the Spartans on Feb. 1-2.

The Dinos return home for their last home games of the season on Feb. 8-9 where they will face the Regina Cougars in a two-game set. Playoffs begin the following weekend.

-UC-