Thursday, Feb. 20: Cascades (11-13, No. 4 seed in PACWEST) vs. College of the Rockies Avalanche (10-14, No. 5 seed in PACWEST), PACWEST quarter-finals, 12:30 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 21: UFV-COTR winner vs. No. 1 seed VIU, PACWEST semifinals, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 22: Semifinal losers to bronze medal match, 12:30 p.m.; semifinal winners to gold medal match, 5:30 p.m.
Royals Gym, Douglas College, New Westminster B.C.
Webcast: pacwestbc.tv

THE TOURNAMENT

The Cascades are the No. 4 seed at the PACWEST conference championships hosted by Douglas College, and they open Thursday in the early game vs. No. 5 College of the Rockies. The two teams have played four times this season, with UFV posting a 3-1 record. The winner advances to Friday's semifinals against the No. 1-seeded, two-time reigning national champion Vancouver Island University Mariners. Two CCAA national championship berths are up for grabs this week, and both PACWEST finalists will qualify.

RECENT FORM

The Cascades won three of their last four games to wrap up the regular season, including a weekend split with the Avalanche in Cranbrook. Those games were the last of the regular season for COTR, who are coming off a bye.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Chelsea Kidd, UFV – The Cascades' senior right side has been stellar down the stretch of the regular season. She finished 17th in the conference in kills (1.85/set) and 20th in total offence (2.23 points/set), but has been particularly effective of late – her top three single-game performances for kills have come over the past four games.

Taylor Whittall, COTR – The third-year outside hitter was incredibly effective for the Avalanche this season, ranking second in the conference in both kills (3.23/set) and total offence (4.10 points/set), and fourth in aces (0.44/set).

QUOTABLE

"I think we need to be very disciplined in our movements – quicker to get into our defensive spots, having more disciplined hands on blocking. They did a good job hitting high off our hands last time we played them. I think if we sharpen up all of our movements (defensively), it'll help us a lot." – UFV third-year outside hitter Amanda Matsui, on what her team needs to focus on vs. COTR to have success