The University of the Fraser Valley women's volleyball team hopes to close out its PACWEST tenure in memorable fashion this season.

The Cascades – ticketed for a move to the Canada West conference next year – launch the 2019-20 PACWEST regular season this weekend, as they take on crosstown rival Columbia Bible College in a home-and-home set.

Games run Friday at UFV's Envision Financial Athletic Centre and Saturday at Columbia Place (women 6 p.m., men 8 p.m. both nights, webcasts at pacwestbc.tv).

WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE
WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL ROSTER

This weekend marks the official debut of new Cascades head coach Janelle Rozema, who took the reins of the program over the summer after spending the previous seven seasons as an assistant coach with the Alberta Pandas.

"We've all been on a steep learning curve, from coaches all the way through the roster to the athletes," Rozema said. "But we are improving quickly. Everyone has a real growth mindset, and is trusting the process. It's about making that one per cent improvement every day, and we can see evidence of that over the eight weeks of training."

The Cascades are coming off a 2018-19 season which saw them finish fourth in the PACWEST with a 14-10 regular-season record. But despite spending much of the campaign in the CCAA national rankings, the Cascades were upset in the conference quarter-finals by the fifth-seeded Capilano Blues.

Personnel-wise, the Cascades get great leadership at the outside hitter positions from veteran returnees Amanda Matsui and Chelsea Kidd. Matsui, entering her third year, is a two-time PACWEST first team all-star, and finished second in the PACWEST in kills (3.18) and total offensive points (3.67) last year on a per-set basis. Kidd, one of two fifth-year seniors on the squad along with libero Cassidy King, is an intelligent, skilled all-around player who is terrific from the service line.

In the middle, the Cascades add an impact transfer in Sedona Arabsky – who spent last season with the Trinity Western Spartans – to a returning group featuring 2018-19 PACWEST all-rookie selection Alysha Cooper and third-year Lauren Poirier.

Fourth-year setter Kara Williams is charged with running the offence, and she's coming off a strong 2018-19 campaign.

The Cascades boast a trio of strong returning liberos – King, Karissa Marazzi and Stephanie Demeules – to utilize in the new two-libero system.

"We're looking to establish who we are and develop a winning culture – a culture of excellence and hard work, and focusing on what we need to do today," said Rozema, reflecting on taking on the challenge of the upcoming PACWEST season while simultaneously building for the eventual move to Canada West. "Our mantra is, 'What are you doing today to create the future?'"