CALGARY – After two weeks on the road, the University of Calgary women's volleyball team returns home to host the Trinity Western Spartans for a Friday night rivalry at Jack Simpson Gymnasium.
DETAILS
Date: Friday, Feb. 2 and Saturday, Feb. 3
Time: 6 p.m. MT Friday and 4 p.m. MT Saturday
Venue: Jack Simpson Gymnasium
HEADLINES
- Calgary is currently tied for first with UBC in Canada West standings, with a 15-3 conference record, boasting 30 points and a three-game winning streak.
- The Spartans sit at a 13-5 overall record for the season, relying on Hilary Howe who has recorded 233 kills this season, and ranks ninth in the conference.
No. 4 CALGARY DINOS (15-3)
- Leading the Calgary Dinos and standing first in the conference is Beth Vinnell, recording .413 in hitting percentage.
- With their road matches, the Dinos won three and fell only once in a close battle to No. 6 University of Alberta, 2-3. Last week, Calgary faced the Thompson Rivers WolfPack, winning by 3-0 (25-18, 28-26, 25-20) on Friday and 3-1 (25-22,25-17,22-25,25-17) Saturday.
- Friday, Kate Pexman recorded 12 kills to lead Calgary's attack, while Laura McManes and Beth Vinnell posted nine kills apiece. On Saturday, the trio once again led the way for Calgary offensively, while Jaylynn Moffatt was in on nine of the team's 10 blocks on the night, and also contributed seven kills.
- With the sweep the Dinos all but clinched home-court advantage through at least the first round of the playoffs – an important consideration given that the four quarter-final victors will earn berths to the U SPORTS championship in Quebec City. With one more win they'll guarantee that, then look to stay as high up the standings as possible heading into the playoffs.
- The Dinos stay in Calgary for the remainder of their schedule, facing MacEwan at home next weekend before a season-ending home-and-home against the Mount Royal Cougars Feb. 15-17.
No. 9 TRINITY WESTERN SPARTANS (13-5)
- The Spartans played their previous match-up at home, ending the weekend with a split against the Regina Cougars.
- Regina earned a 3-2 win over the Spartans Friday, and Katelyn Devaney led Trinity Western with 13 kills, while Howe added 12. In the match, Avery Heppell had a career-high 13 blocks, equaling TWU's single-match record.
- Saturday, the Spartans bounced back, and Howe was once again an asset, noting a career-high of 20 kills and hitting .400. Devaney had a match-high 10 blocks to go with nine kills, while Brie O'Reilly managed 43 assists as well as five kills and six blocks.
- The schedule sees the Spartans face the Dinos this week with a home-and-home series against UBC – the other first-place team at the moment – next weekend, before wrapping up the season at Thompson Rivers. The stretch of five of their last six games on the road, with four games against the top two teams in the league, should have the Spartans battle-ready heading into the playoffs.
-UC-
