The University of Regina's men's and women's volleyball teams finish up the first half of their Canada West schedule this weekend against the University of Alberta at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.

The women's team started off the season with a loss to the Manitoba Bisons, but has reeled off five consecutive victories and now sits in third place in the conference with a 5-1 record. The Cougars, ranked No. 4 in the CIS, had last weekend off following a two-match weekend sweep over Thompson Rivers on Nov. 6 and 7 in Kamloops, B.C.

Beth Clark is having a huge season so far for the Cougars. The fifth-year middle ranks second in the conference in both hitting percentage (.392) and blocks per set (1.30) and has a team-leading 67 kills through the team's first six matches. Tiffany Herman is fourth in Canada West with 9.58 assists per set, while Roxanne Olynyk has 47 kills and leads the team defensively with 46 digs.

The Pandas come into the weekend with a 7-1 record, which puts them in second place in the tight Canada West standings. Ranked No. 5 in the country, Alberta's lone setback came in a 3-1 loss to Winnipeg back on Nov. 7.

Fourth-year libero Lindsey Isaak has been a bright spot for the U of R's men's team, which currently holds an 0-6 record in Canada West play. Isaak ranks fifth in the conference with 51 digs and averages 2.68 digs per set. Drew Smith has started all six matches at middle and leads the team with 13 total blocks, while Mathew Brooks, Brody Waddell, and Jamie Wilkins have started all six matches on the outside.

The Golden Bears (4-2), who haven't played since splitting a weekend series at home against Winnipeg on Nov. 6 and 7, were ranked No. 3 in this week's CIS poll. Alberta will be playing its first road games of the Canada West schedule this weekend, as the first six matches saw the Golden Bears play host to Calgary, Thompson Rivers, and the Wesmen.

Matches will begin at 6 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday night at the CKHS. The women will play first on Friday, while the men will kick off the festivities on Saturday.