VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds women's volleyball team will host its Canada West home openers this weekend when they take on the Mount Royal University Cougars at War Memorial Gym. 

The 'Birds lost two five-set matches in Edmonton last weekend against Canada West newcomers MacEwan University to being regular season play for the 2014-15 campaign.

MRU split a pair of five-set matches at home against Brandon University. When Cougars claimed the victory, sets consisted of long rallies and intense kills from both teams, while sets that Brandon took were short and won easily. Mt. Royal middle Nicky Zalasky is fourth in the league in blocks with 1.57 per set.

UBC will be looking to rebound this weekend. The team was without reigning CIS Player of the Year Lisa Barclay on the road for Thanksgiving but the team got notable performances from Rosie Schlagintweit, who recorded 25 kills over two matches, and Danielle Brisebois, who knocked 12 kills on Friday and then recorded 15 digs on Saturday. Youngsters Laura MacTaggart, an outside hitter, and Samantha Patko, a libero, saw significant court time and were impressive for head coach Doug Reimer's team.

Both matches are set for 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday night. They will also be streamed live at CanadaWest.TV.