The University of Regina's women's volleyball team closed out the first half of the Canada West schedule on a winning note and after participating in the New Year's Classic non-conference tournament hosted by the University of Alberta last weekend, will look to get back in the win column again this weekend against Calgary as conference play resumes.

Match times are set for 6 p.m. on both Thursday and Friday at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.

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It was a rough opening to conference play for the Cougars, as injuries and illness beset the roster for much of the first six weekends of Canada West action. But the team returned almost to full strength by the Nov. 27/28 home weekend against Manitoba, and put up their first win of the year in grand fashion – they lost the opening two sets to the Bisons, but came roaring back to win the next three. Fifth-year veteran Tori Glynn was huge in the last part of the deciding set, as she was directly responsible for six of the U of R's final seven points of the win.
 
Glynn and Ashlee Sandiford are the team's top two options on the outside. Glynn has 89 kills on 310 attacks, while Sandiford has a team-high 92 kills on 313 attacks. Glynn also leads the team with 92 digs, one more than libero Taylor Ungar. Rookie setter Erika Burns has been thrust into a starting role after Satomi Togawa suffered an injury six matches into the season, and has 180 assists in the six matches since taking over at setter.
 
Burns was the only setter on the roster after Togawa went down, but the Cougars made a midseason addition over the break as rookie Kylie Schubert (Edmonton, Alta. / Harry Ainlay HS) was formally added to the roster. Schubert was already with the team and was expected to redshirt, but will contribute some needed depth for the U of R.
 
Calgary enters the weekend in the thick of the Canada West postseason race. The Dinos are currently alone in eighth place in the conference and sit only one win back of Thompson Rivers and Mount Royal, who currently occupy the final two postseason spots. There's also a troika of teams trying to catch Calgary, with Brandon, MacEwan, and Winnipeg just one win behind Calgary at 3-9.
 
Dinos second-year player Beth Vinnell is already one of the top middles in the conference. She ranks in the top five in Canada West with a .313 hitting percentage and also leads Calgary with 45 blocks on the season.