Faced with the task of taking on the No. 1-ranked team in the CIS on the road to open the Canada West schedule, the University of Regina's women's volleyball team suffered a three-set loss to UBC Okanagan on Friday night in Kelowna.

UBC Okanagan sprinted out to a 22-5 lead in the first set before taking it 25-10, then followed that up with 25-11 and 25-16 wins in the second and third sets to claim victory.

Brianna Beamish led UBC Okanagan (1-0) with nine kills and hit .500 for the match, while Megan Festival added seven kills while leading all players in both service aces (4) and digs (9). Chandler Proch and Emily Oxland split the setting duties for the Heat, with Proch ending up with 17 assists and Oxland finishing with seven.

Taylor Ungar got the start at libero for the Cougars and finished with a team-leading seven digs. Ashlee Sandiford and Tori Glynn both had four kills for the U of R, while first-year setter Satomi Togawa had 10 assists.

The two teams will meet again on Saturday night (5:00 PDT). It'll be webcast at www.canadawest.tv.

NOTES: Togawa, Erika Burns, Diana Lumbala, and Haley Wagar all made their Canada West debuts for the Cougars … Togawa and Sandiford were both credited with their first career starts.