Brian Swane, Special to Canada West
EDMONTON – What promises to be an intensely competitive playoffs in Canada West men's volleyball gets underway this weekend with the best-of-three quarter-final round.
The excitement and drama will only be cranked up from an incredible 2018-19 regular season, which came down to its final day before the last playoff spots and any series match-ups were determined.
Teams are playing for spots in the semifinals, another best-of-three round, set for next weekend.
You can watch every CW game all post-season on Canada West TV.
No. 8 Calgary (10-12 reg. season) -AT- No. 1 Brandon (20-2)
- Healthy Living Centre in Brandon
- Game 1 – Thursday, 7 p.m. CST
- Game 2 – Friday, 7 p.m. CST
- Game 3* - Saturday, 7 p.m. CST
The Bobcats haven't lost since the second weekend of November, reeling off an incredible 16 straight wins en route to finishing atop the regular season standings with a 20-2 record. Brandon's win streak included a pair of 3-0 victorys over the Dinos, who slipped to the eighth and final playoff seed after losing their last four games. Perhaps most impressively, the Bobcats have won 24 consecutive sets at the Healthy Living Centre. Calgary outside hitter Tim Taylor ranked third in Canada West this season, averaging 3.75 kills per set.
No. 7 UBC (11-11) -AT- No. 2 Trinity Western (18-4)
- Langley Events Centre in Langley
- Game 1 – Thursday, 8 p.m. PST
- Game 2 – Friday, 8 p.m. PST
- Game 3* - Saturday, 8 p.m. PST
In a quarter-final match-up with national championship calibre competition, the three-time defending Canada West gold medalists take on the reigning U SPORTS titlists. TWU's journey for a fourth straight conference crown starts against a UBC team with championship experience of its own. Both teams are rolling, TWU having won seven in a row, while the T-Birds went 9-1 since the holiday break. Each team won once when the T-Birds and Spartans played a pair of games in Langley at the end of January, with UBC's 3-1 triumph just one of two loses TWU suffered on their home court in 2018-19.
No. 6 Thompson Rivers (11-11) -AT- No. 3 Alberta (17-5)
- Saville Community Sports Centre in Edmonton
- Game 1 – Friday, 6 p.m. MST
- Game 2 – Saturday, 5 p.m. MST
- Game 3* – Sunday, 3 p.m. MST
The Golden Bears bring a five-game win streak into the post-season, while Thompson Rivers is just 4-8 since the holiday break after starting the season 7-3. No teams in Canada West saw the court more in 2018-19 than these two teams, with Alberta playing 90 sets, just ahead of TWU's 87. The Golden Bears are an impressive 6-1 in five-set games, including a 3-2 victory over TRU in Edmonton at the beginning of December. Tim Dobbert played every single set for Thompson Rivers this season, racking up a conference-leading 379 kills.
No. 5 Saskatchewan (12-10) -AT- No. 4 Mount Royal (15-7)
- Kenyon Court in Calgary
- Game 1 – Friday, 7 p.m. MST
- Game 2 – Saturday, 7 p.m. MST
- Game 3* - Sunday, 5 p.m. MST
Saskatchewan closed the regular season with a pair of 3-1 wins over Mount Royal last Friday and Saturday, but those matches were in Saskatoon, while this weekend's action will unfold on Kenyon Court, where the Cougars went 8-2 in the regular season. Both the Huskies and Cougars are into the playoffs after just missing last season, when they finished ninth and tenth respectively. MRU's roster includes the conference leaders in digs (Jonathan Phillips, 216) and kills per set (Tyler Schmidt, 4.61), while Saskatchewan features the 2018 Canada West Rookie of the Year, outside hitter Dylan Mortensen.