The University of British Columbia Athletics

Vancouver. BC - The playoff picture is already set in Canada West women's volleyball, with all seven spots clinched. This weekend the Thunderbirds have nothing official to play for, as they are already locked into the top seed with their 18-2 record. Alberta could theoretically play themselves into a top-four seed and home court for round one, but that would require a sweep of UBC and Manitoba losing to the winless (0-20) TRU WolfPack. Plus some more help from UBC Okanagan. So basically, it's not happening.
 
But given the recent history between UBC and Alberta women's volleyball, it's safe to say this weekend's regular season finale series won't lack for intensity, even if it leaves the standings essentially unchanged.
 
Last year, UBC and Alberta met in the CIS gold medal game, with the T-Birds winning 3-0. The year before, Alberta took the Canada West gold medal over UBC 3-2 before the 'Birds got revenge in the CIS title game, winning 3-2. And before that, it was UBC over Alberta in the CIS semifinals in 2011. You have to go all the way back to 2010 for the last time the T-Birds made it through conference and national playoffs without squaring off against Alberta.
 
One thing of note that will be decided this weekend is the Canada West kills leader for the regular season. UBC's Lisa Barclay comes into the weekend averaging 4.10 per set, trailing only Winnipeg's Ozana Nikolic, who averages 4.11. Barclay has a slight lead in overall points per set, averaging 4.82.
 
Middle blocker Mariah Bruinsma has a chance to lock up a win in another individual stat category. She has been a consistent threat all year at the service line, and she currently leads Canada West with 0.52 aces per set.
 
As for Alberta's individual stat leaders, libero Jessie Niles is really the only one in contention to top any major category, but contention might be the wrong word for her case, as she could probably play this weekend with one arm tied behind her back and still lead the conference in digs. She currently averages 4.62 per set, which is almost one full dig more than anyone else in the conference.
 
The Bears' main weapon offensively is sophomore hitter Meg Casault, who averages 3.50 kills per game, but the player to watch might very well be fellow second-year Karly Janssen. She has had a great all-around season, averaging 2.96 hills with a better percentage than Casault, and she also adds 2.12 digs and 0.84 block – a great number for any outside hitter.
 
So there is plenty of individual and team pride on the line as these teams wrap up their regular seasons this weekend. UBC has the added motivation of trying to stay sharp with a bye week in front of them before the Final Four, and given the way things have played out over the past three years, they probably feel pretty sure that this weekend isn't the last they will hear from Alberta as they go in search of a seventh straight CIS title.
 
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