It's the second consecutive home weekend for the University of Regina's women's volleyball team, with the Cougars set to entertain provincial rival Saskatchewan on Friday and Saturday night at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.
 
Both teams enter the weekend with 4-12 records in Canada West play. Friday's match is a 6 p.m. start, while first serve on Saturday is scheduled for a 5 p.m. first serve.
 
The Cougars are coming off a pair of home losses to a Trinity Western team that's ranked No. 5 in the CIS. The U of R had the Spartans on the ropes in the first match of the weekend set after winning the second and third sets to go up 2-1, only to have TWU come back for victories in the fourth and fifth to claim the win. The Spartans rode that momentum to a three-set win on Saturday.
 
The losses overshadowed a fine performance by Michelle Sweeting, who put down a career-high 21 kills on Friday and averaged 4.12 kills per set over the weekend while leading the team with nine blocks. Sweeting is the team's kill leader with 179 for the season and not only ranks fourth in Canada West with an average of 3.31 per set for the conference schedule, but is also fifth in the league with 1.24 blocks per set.
 
Besides Sweeting at middle, fellow fifth-year players Lindsay Braul (libero) and Chelsea Ziolkowski (right side) project to be in the starting lineup this weekend for the Cougars. Other starters are likely to include Leah Shevkenek at setter, Molly Wade-Cummings at middle, and Tori Glynn and Jenna Krahn at outside hitter.
 
Saskatchewan started the second half of the Canada West schedule last weekend with a pair of home losses to Brandon, losing in four sets on Friday and in three sets on Saturday. Third-year outside hitter Emmalyn Copping leads the Huskies in several categories including kills (166), kills per set (2.81) and attacks (522) and is also second on the team with 133 digs, just one behind Anne Hanbidge.
 
Saskatchewan's four wins on the season came in their first match of the year at Winnipeg, a weekend road sweep at Mount Royal the fourth week of the season, and in a home split with UBC in late November.
 
Both matches will be broadcast live at www.canadawest.tv.