This week's UFV-TWU volleyball series was originally scheduled to be a home-and-home, with Thursday's game at the UFV Athletic Centre and Friday's game at the Langley Events Centre. Both games will be played at the LEC, though, in light of ongoing flooding in Abbotsford. FULL RELEASE

Thursday, Dec. 2: Cascades (1-3, 4th in West Division) at No. 4 Trinity Western Spartans (3-1, 2nd in West Division), 6 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 3: Cascades at Spartans, 6 p.m.
Langley Events Centre / Langley, B.C.
Webcast: CanadaWest.tv presented by Co-op

THE MATCH-UP

The Cascades and Spartans, separated by just a few kilometres on Highway 1, face each other for the first time in Canada West conference play this week.

The Cascades are in the midst of their inaugural CW campaign, while the Spartans are the reigning conference champions and come in ranked No. 4 in the nation.

The two teams have some familiarity with each other – they played in the preseason back on Oct. 2, with the Spartans prevailing in three sets.

RECENT FORM

The Cascades haven't played a conference game in three weeks, having had a scheduled bye followed by a home-court postponement vs. TRU last week. Their most recent CW action featured a historic performance – a weekend split at UBC was highlighted by the program's first-ever CW victory on Nov. 12.

Trinity Western's most recent game action also came against the Thunderbirds – they split a pair of games at home last weekend, winning in four sets last Friday and falling in five sets on Saturday.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Grace Warkentin, UFV – The third-year transfer from Douglas College has transitioned seamlessly to the Canada West level. Warkentin paced the Cascades offensively against UBC, racking up team highs for kills – 16 on Nov. 12, eight on Nov. 13 – both nights.

Savannah Purdey, TWU – The third-year outside hitter is coming off a big weekend vs. UBC, leading the Spartans in points scored both nights, posting 19.0 last Friday and 18.5 on Saturday. The Victoria product was subsequently named the Spartans' female athlete of the week.

QUOTABLE

"Trinity Western's hitters are very different – each one is unique, and we have to adapt to that. They have some who are heavy hitters who hit more down, and others who use a lot of off-hands and a lot of deeper, beach-type shots. It's about learning to adapt and work with each other, and that will help us succeed." – UFV outside hitter Sadie Wilson, on the Spartans

"(Winning at UBC) was amazing. I think it meant a lot, in that we aren't an underdog in this league – we can compete, and we can hold our own. It not only showed us and our team, but also other teams that we are here – we are ready to compete and fight." – Wilson, on the significance of the program's first CW victory

"I think our biggest thing is finishing rallies. We can be scrappy when we need to be, we can pick up balls, but then finishing those rallies is where we really need to hit the mark." – Wilson, on what her team needs to focus on to have success vs. TWU