Friday, Feb. 7: Cascades (8-12, T-5th in PACWEST) at College of the Rockies Avalanche (9-13, 4th in PACWEST), 4 p.m. PT
Saturday, Feb. 8: Cascades at Avalanche, 12 p.m. PT
Cranbrook, BC
Webcast: pacwestbc.tv

THE MATCH-UP

Both the Cascades and the Avalanche have locked up PACWEST playoff berths, but with the conference standings absolutely jam-packed between third and sixth place, there's still room to make a significant climb over the last two weekends of the regular season. UFV swept COTR in Abbotsford back in October, winning in four sets both nights.

RECENT FORM

The Cascades have dropped their last six games, most recently falling in an epic five-setter to Capilano. College of the Rockies is coming off a pair of home-court losses to the VIU Mariners last weekend.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Sedona Arabsky, UFV – The rookie middle is coming off an outstanding performance vs. Capilano which saw her rack up 12 kills on 20 swings against just two errors for a .500 hitting percentage. In addition to being an efficient offensive threat, Arabsky leads the Cascades in blocks (0.56/set, fourth in PACWEST) and aces (0.35/set, 11th in PACWEST).

Taylor Whittall, COTR – Whittall, whose older brother Matt is a Cascades alum, has had an outstanding 2019-20 campaign. She's battling VIU's Karoline Tormena for the PACWEST lead in total offence (4.16 points/set) and kills (3.21/set), currently sitting second in both categories, and she also ranks third overall in aces (0.51/set).

QUOTABLE

"Tomorrow we're going to get here a little bit early and do a pre-bus stretch. One of the key points is staying hydrated. A lot of us bring a couple bottles of water – going through the mountains, it's drier up there, so staying hydrated is important. We also bring lots of food and snack a lot, and we try to sleep as much as we can. But it's challenging on a bus, for sure." – UFV third-year outside hitter Lexi Edwards, on how her team handles the all-day bus ride to Cranbrook

"One thing Janelle (Rozema, Cascades head coach) said last week was . . . that this was when we really need to start trusting the process. Not being defined by the outcome, but being defined by who we are as a team, working hard in practice, trusting that the outcome we want is going to come at some point. Our mental game is definitely getting there, pregame prep is definitely getting there. We're just going to try to stay true to who we are, and hopefully that outcome will follow." – Edwards, on what it means to 'trust the process' during a winless streak