The University of Regina's women's volleyball team went 10-5 during their non-conference schedule and will look to continue that success this weekend as the Cougars open up their Canada West schedule at home against the Manitoba Bisons.

The Cougars lose just two starters – setter Claire Tarala and outside hitter Michelle Zulyniak – from last year's team. The U of R's roster has a nice mix of experience, including four players in their fourth or fifth years of eligibility and seven players in just their first or second years.

The returning Cougars are led by fifth-year libero Kelly Cowan, who was named the 2008 Canada West Libero of the Year after collecting 230 digs in 69 sets last season. Counting regular season matches, Cowan needs just 106 digs to hit 1000 for her career.

Also in her fifth year is outside hitter Tammy Jule, who was a conference all-star in 2006-07 and put up 245 kills last year as the team's primary option on the outside. Like Cowan, Jule is also chasing a career milestone, as she needs just 56 kills to surpass Samantha Lawrek as the U of R's rally-point era leader in career kills.

The Cougars are strong in the middle, where seventh-year head coach Melanie Sanford has the services of Beth Clark and Solveig Nilson. Clark was named a Canada West second-team all-star last season after recording 170 kills, a .273 hitting percentage, and a team-leading 69 blocks. Nilson, who will enter just her second year of eligibility this season, started 16 matches and had 48 blocks and 29 kills as a rookie. Ashten Thiedig, a 6'1" rookie from Melville, is the only other middle on the team's roster.

Tiffany Herman, in her second season with the Cougars, will be the team's primary setter this year. Herman saw limited action at the CIS level last year, but was solid in two late-season starts and ended up with 86 assists and five total blocks in 11 sets.

Besides Jule, the Cougars have fourth-year Meagan Smith, third-year Lisa Abrahamowicz, second-year Meagan Onstad, and rookies Kaitlyn Hughes and Roxanne Olynyk on the outside. Smith had 77 kills and 60 digs in 54 sets last season, while Abrahamowicz returns to the team for the first time since being injured during the 2006-07 season.

The Cougars have two players that will be redshirting the season after stints at American universities. Outside hitter Sarah Bury played for three seasons with the NCAA's University of Memphis Tigers, while setter Kaitlin Zalinko has to sit out the season after a brief stint at Minot State earlier this season.

Manitoba finished first in the conference last season with an 18-2 record, but lost to Alberta and UBC in the Canada West Final Four and missed qualifying for the CIS tournament. The Bisons return five starters from last year's team, including first-team All-Canadian Ashley Voth, Canada West second-team all-star Sarah Morrissette, and 6'3” setter Samantha Loewen, who was named the CIS Rookie of the Year last season.

The teams met three times during the non-conference schedule, with Manitoba holding a 2-1 edge during those matches.

Match time is set for 7 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday. Friday's match is part of the Greater Together with the Community event and will be free of charge for all spectators. Live statistics will be available at www.reginacougars.com for both matches.