Brian Swane, Special to Canada West

EDMONTON – A storied quartet are set for the semifinal round of the 2019 Canada West women’s volleyball playoffs.

In best-of-thee series, the reigning champion Calgary Dinos welcome UBC, while Alberta visits Trinity Western. Between them, the four programs account for every conference title since 1993.

The winning teams advance to next week’s Canada West Championship, the last stop on the road to the U SPORTS Championships in Edmonton, hosted by the University of Alberta at the Saville Community Sports Centre March 15 – 17.

No. 5 UBC (15-9 reg. season, 2-0) -AT- No. 1 Calgary (19-5, 2-0)

• Jack Simpson Gym in Calgary
• Game 1 – Friday, 6:00 p.m. MST
• Game 2 – Saturday, 6:00 p.m. MST
• Game 3* - Sunday, noon, MST

In a rematch of the 2018 Canada West Championship, UBC looks to dethrone the Dinos, who beat the T-Birds 3-1 in the title game last year. It was just two weeks ago, at the end of the regular season, that these teams met for a pair of games in Calgary, with the home team winning 3-0 and 3-1. The Dinos are coming off a quarter-final sweep of Manitoba, and UBC has momentum from their win over the fourth-seeded Regina Cougars 2-0. Calgary ranked first among all Canada West teams this season in hitting percentage (.249), while Dinos middle blocker Beth Vinnell led all players with a hitting percentage of .382. UBC’s Kiera Van Ryk, a second-year outside hitter, was tops in the conference for kills (398) and service aces (68).  

No. 3 Alberta (18-6, 2-1) -AT- No. 2 Trinity Western (19-5, 2-0)

• Langley Events Centre in Langley
• Game 1 – Thursday, 7:15 p.m. PST
• Game 2 – Friday, 7:15 p.m. PST
• Game 3* - Saturday, 6:30 p.m. PST

In another rematch from last year’s post-season, TWU looks to avenge its three-game loss at the hands of Alberta in the 2018 quarter-finals. That series was in Edmonton, while this will be at the Langley Events Centre, where the Spartans beat Alberta twice during the regular season, 3-1 and 3-0. After finishing the season on a mini-slump with just three wins in their last eight games, the Spartans were in fine form during a quarter-final sweep of Mount Royal last week. Alberta, meanwhile, stormed back after dropping Game 1 of their best-of-three series to Thompson Rivers, with wins of 3-1 and 3-0 to take the series. Players to watch include Spartans middle blocker Mikaelyn Sych, who was first in Canada West with 1.33 blocks per set, and Alberta’s Mariah Walsh, the conference leader with 10.5 assists per set.