The University of Regina's women's volleyball team hits the court this weekend for a pair of critical home matches against the University of Winnipeg at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.

The two matches will be critical for both teams, as the Cougars and the Wesmen come in with identical 3-7 Canada West records and tied for the seventh and final conference playoff berth.

The two teams met twice during the non-conference schedule, with the Cougars taking a 3-1 win in Regina on Sept. 25 and the Wesmen replying with a four-set win of their own a week later in Winnipeg.

The Cougars, who dropped out of the CIS Top Ten this week after losing a pair of matches on the road to Alberta, have been led by Tiffany Herman this season. The fourth-year setter missed the non-conference schedule with a broken finger, but returned in time for Canada West play and ranks fifth in the conference with an average of 9.47 assists per set.

Rookie middle Michelle Sweeting has also had a fine season in her first season as a Cougar, as she leads the team in hitting percentage (.277) and has registered 23 total blocks. Meagan Onstad comes into the weekend with 92 digs and a team-high 99 kills, while Solveig Nilson leads the Cougars with 28 blocks.

Winnipeg features a balanced attack, as the Wesmen have three players over the 100-kill mark this season, including Lauren Sears (105), Carleen Kruschel (104) and Sonia Rossy (102). Rossy, who also ranks second on Winnipeg with 127 digs, was named the CIS Rookie of the Year last season.

The two teams will meet at 6:15 p.m. on Friday night and at 8 p.m. following the conclusion of the men's match on Saturday night at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.

The men's and women's matches will be webcast at www.reginacougars.com this weekend.

NOTES: The Cougars have won eight consecutive Canada West matches over Winnipeg … the last time the Wesmen defeated the U of R in a conference match was on Jan. 28, 2006.