CALGARY – It's down to a one-game, winner-take-all contest in Canada West women's volleyball, with the conference championship on the line as the UBC Thunderbirds visit the University of Calgary Dinos Friday night.

First serve is set for 6 p.m. MT in the Jack Simpson Gym. CanadaWest.tv will have exclusive live streaming coverage.

The Dinos are in search of their first conference title since 2005, and there are other implications as well: the winner of this contest will likely draw one of the top two seeds at the U SPORTS national championship next week in Quebec City. The Dinos enter the contest in sole possession of the No. 1 national ranking, but UBC is just behind them at No. 3.

Calgary was able to get through provincial-rival Alberta in just two semifinal games, winning 3-2 (15-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-17, 15-13) and 3-1 (24-26, 29-27, 26-24, 25-22) in the best-of-three match-up. Meanwhile, in a sister school rivalry with high stakes, the UBC Thunderbirds reigned supreme over the UBC Okanagan Heat, taking the first match 3-1 (25-17, 19-25, 25-19, 25-19) and the second 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-17).

When facing the Alberta Pandas on Friday in the semifinals the Dinos had to overcome early jitters and trailed after the first and third sets, only to come back triumphant in the last two. Canada West player of the year Kate Pexman led the way with 18 kills for Calgary, with Beth Vinnell picking up a dozen. Laura McManes and Jaylynn Moffatt each had eight.

The following evening saw another comeback from Calgary as the Dinos clawed past the Pandas squad after a 26-24 loss in the opening set. Kennedy Snape's 20 digs led the Dinos, with Pexman and McManes each adding 19, and Leah Shevkenek chipping in 14. Pexman was again the Dinos' leader with 18 kills on the night.

"I truly feel that when this group decides to play and be confident, they are the hardest team to beat," said Dinos Head Coach Natalie Gurnsey. "But we get in these ruts where we lose confidence, so this was a big character win to kind of grit our way through it, even when we were down to keep believing in ourselves."

Testing Calgary's confidence will be the UBC Thunderbirds, who came out firing on home court Friday night, besting the UBC Okanagan Heat 3-1. UBC's Kiera Van Ryk smoked a match-high 16 kills at War Memorial Gymnasium, also picking up eight digs, a solo block and three block assists, while Gabrielle Attieh and Olivia Furlan each had 11 kills.

The following evening was equally successful for the T-birds, as they only needed three sets and just over one hour to best their competition. Furlan delivered a match-high of 12 kills, while Van Ryk wasn't far behind with 10 kills and six digs. Fifth-year setter Alessandra Gentile added 32 assists to go along with three kills and eight digs while Samantha Patko went low for a match-high 14 digs.

DETAILS
Canada West Women's Volleyball Championship
Date: Friday, March 9, 2018
Time: 6 p.m. MT
Venue: Jack Simpson Gym, University of Calgary

HEADLINES 

• The UBC Thunderbirds swept the two head-to-head battles in the regular season, taking 3-1 and 3-0 wins at home in early November. The teams split their two preseason meetings, with the T-Birds winning in Edmonton and the Dinos winning in Vancouver.
• Calgary's Kate Pexman and Beth Vinnell along with UBC's Alessandra Gentile and Kiera Van Ryk were all named Canada West first team all-stars.
• Both teams qualified for the U SPORTS national championship with wins in the quarter-finals.

No. 1 CALGARY DINOS (21-3, 4-0)

• The Dinos remain No. 1 in the nation this week, reaching that pinnacle last week for the first time since Jan. 23, 2007.
• Calgary is headed to their first national championship tournament since 2009, which was the last of a span of nine consecutive appearances
• The Dinos are riding a 13-match win strea,
• Kate Pexman topped the conference in kills at 3.90 per set, while also finishing sixth in hitting percentage and was named the CW player of the year
• Beth Vinnell was the most accurate attacker in the league, hitting at a .443 clip – more than 10 percent better than second place.

No. 3 UBC THUNDERBIRDS (20-4, 4-0)

• UBC last took the Canada West title in the 2013-14 season, but they are the defending national champions
• Kiera Van Ryk was the first player to be named to both the conference all-rookie team and the first team all-star squad, with a league high of 352 kills.
• Fifth-year setter Alessandra Gentile ranked third in Canada West, notching 8.90 assists per set.

-UC-