VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds, the nation's sixth-ranked women's volleyball team, are back on the road this weekend, with two matches on the slate against the Mt. Royal Cougars.
 
UBC has won eight straight matches to open the 2015-16 Canada West league campaign, while Mt. Royal is 4-4, with two losses at MacEwan and two more at home to Alberta. Like UBC, MRU swept series against Regina and Manitoba.
 
Outside hitter Danielle Brisebois (Bolton, Ont.), a second-team league all-star last season, continues to lead UBC's offence. Her team-leading 4.7 points per set are fourth in all of the Canada West, while her 0.63 service aces per set is best in the league. Brisebois averages 3.74 kills per set, which puts her fifth in the conference.
 
Both Laura MacTaggart (Lacombe, Alta.) and Alissa Coulter (Calgary) are both averaging 3.3 points per set, which has them in the top 15 in the league. MacTaggart's production has been helped by her service prowess, as she's third in the Canada West in aces (0.58).
 
Last weekend in Winnipeg, UBC dropped the opening set on Friday but rallied to win the next six to claim the sweep. The Wesmen attack was severely hampered when veteran outside hitter Ozana Nikolic was ruled out of the rest of the weekend with an injury in Friday's match.

The Cougars are well rested from their bye week and are winners of four of their last six contests. The team is on an upward swing thanks to some key performances by their younger players. Three underclassmen are in the top five in team scoring. Taylor Pelland (2.9), Carolina Alongi (2.7) and Chantel Park (2.3) have all excelled early this season.
 
This weekend's matches will be a homecoming for T-Birds Coulter and Ciara Hanly – who has the Canada West's third-best blocks per set mark at 1.23 – as both are from Calgary. MacTaggart is from Lacombe, which is about halfway between Calgary and Edmonton.
 
- with files from Mt. Royal Sports Information