CALGARY – Three hundred and sixty-four days and 22 conference matches later, the Dinos men's volleyball team is headed back to Brandon, Man.

After facing the Bobcats in a first-round playoff match-up in 2019, the Dinos find themselves in exactly the same scenario a year later as they get set for this weekend's best-of-three Canada West quarter-final at Brandon University's Healthy Living Centre. The series opens Thursday at 6 p.m. MT, with Game 2 and, if necessary, Game 3 set for Friday and Saturday nights, also with 6 p.m. starts. CanadaWest.tv presented by Co-op has live streaming coverage.

DÉJÀ VU
The Bobcats swept the Dinos with 3-0 and 3-1 wins in the quarter-final last year, en route to their first-ever Canada West title and a second-place finish at the national championship. In 2019, it was the 1-vs-8 matchup, whereas this season the teams were much closer in the standings, separated by just one win.
 

They've beaten them twice this season in the Jack, now they look to do it on their court.@DinosMVB opens the @CanadaWest playoffs tomorrow night as they take on the Brandon Bobcats in their conference quarter-final.#GoDinos #WinTheWest pic.twitter.com/bbzXhybeBQ

— UCalgary Dinos (@UCDinos) February 19, 2020

LAST TIME OUT
The Dinos swept their two matches with the Bobcats this season, taking 3-1 and 3-0 wins at home on Jan. 17-18. That helped the Dinos to a 12-10 and a fifth-place finish, their best in five years. Brandon, which ran into injury trouble midway through the season, grabbed the last hosting spot with their fourth-place finish at 13-9.

Both teams will look to rebound from the final weekend of the regular season after the Bobcats were swept at UBC while the Dinos uncharacteristically split against the already-eliminated UBC Okanagan Heat at home.

SCOUTING REPORT
vs BRANDON BOBCATS
Series Info
Game 1: Thursday, Feb. 20 at 6 p.m. MT
Game 2: Friday, Feb. 21 at 6 p.m. MT
Game 3 (if necessary): Saturday Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. MT
2019-20 Record 13-9, 4th in Canada West
Player to Watch Elliot Viles (3.47 kills per set)

NOTES

• The Bobcats came to Calgary in January without two of their key pieces in Robyn Baghdady and Seth Friesen, both of whom missed the first month of 2020. Friesen sat out the UBC weekend after returning the previous week against Manitoba, while Baghdady returned against TWU Jan. 31 and played the rest of the regular season
• Brandon enters the playoffs with just two wins in their last 10 matches, with both of those coming at home against Manitoba Feb. 7-8
• The Dinos will need to be ready for the Bobcats' tough serving, which averaged nearly two aces per set, while defensively Brandon averaged better than two blocks per set – second-best in CW.
• Calgary, meanwhile, was the top-digging team in the conference, averaging 9.43 digs per set.

-UC-