The University of Regina's women's volleyball team was defeated twice by No. 4-ranked UBC Okanagan over the weekend in Kelowna, losing in three sets on Friday and in four sets on Saturday.
 
The Cougars (5-7) remain part of a group of six teams with five wins battling furiously for playoff position in the Canada West standings. Regina's next action will be at the New Year's Classic in Edmonton, a non-conference tournament in late December. After that, it's back to the Canada West schedule for a couple of huge road matches against a Saskatchewan team that's currently lurking just behind the knot of five-win teams at 4-6. Those two matches will be played on Jan. 5 and Jan. 6 in Saskatoon.
 
Friday: UBC Okanagan 3, Regina 0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-20)
UBC Okanagan controlled Friday's match from start to finish. The Cougars' best chance was likely in the second set when they held the Heat to a -.029 hitting percentage, but the U of R was even worse that set with eight kills and 12 errors to finish hitting at a -.121 clip.
 
Michelle Jakszuk had nine digs and six blocks to lead the Heat, who improve to 7-2 with the win.
 
Kathleen Ens, Jessica Lerminiaux, and Haley Wagar all had seven kills for Regina.
 
Saturday: UBC Okanagan 3, Regina 1 (27-25, 24-26, 25-17, 25-17)
The Cougars came out looking much stronger than the previous night after being edged 27-25 in the first set and coming back for a 26-24 win in the second, but it was all Heat from there. UBC Okanagan put up back-to-back 25-17 wins in the third and fourth sets to claim its eighth conference win of the season and its fifth victory in a row.
 
Ann Richards and Aidan Lea led the Heat offensively, with Richards finishing with a match-high 16 kills and Lea adding 15. UBC Okanagan also got 13 kills from Siobhan Fitzpatrick and 10 from Erin Drew, with Drew also leading all players with six blocks.
 
Ashlee Sandiford, Jessica Lerminiaux, and Diana Lumbala led Regina. Sandiford had 13 kills and 11 digs for her sixth double-double of the Canada West schedule, while Lerminiaux and Lumbala both finished with 12 kills.