Friday, Feb. 11: Cascades (5-5, T-3rd in West Division) vs. UBC Thunderbirds (5-5, T-3rd in West Division), 8 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 12: Cascades vs. Thunderbirds, 6 p.m.
UFV Athletic Centre
Webcast: CanadaWest.tv presented by Co-op

THE MATCH-UP

The Cascades and Thunderbirds come into the weekend tied for third in the West Division at 5-5, with UBC Okanagan (6-4) just ahead in second place. Thus, this weekend's head-to-head results will go a long way towards determining playoff seeding.

The UFV squad made some program history in their first meeting of the season with the Thunderbirds, back on Nov. 12 in Vancouver, as they prevailed in four sets for their first-ever Canada West victory. UBC bounced back to win in three sets the next night, though.

RECENT FORM

The Cascades' current four-game win streak came entirely at the expense of the Thompson Rivers WolfPack, with two wins in Kamloops followed by a pair of home-court victories last Friday and Saturday.

UBC, meanwhile, is coming off a pair of losses at home to the first-place Trinity Western Spartans – both in four sets.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Mo Likness, UFV – The Cascades' rookie middle had a breakout game last Friday vs. TRU, racking up 11 kills on just 15 swings to lead UFV to a four-set victory. The Mission, B.C. product is averaging 1.27 kills per set on the season, and ranks 11th in CW in aces per set (0.40).

Cara Kovacs, UBC – The third-year outside hitter from Vancouver has been the primary offensive engine for UBC – she ranks fourth in the conference in kills (3.66) and fifth in points (4.1) per set.

QUOTABLE

"I think it was one of the biggest moments for us – a proving moment that we deserve to be in the league. With me being injured, there was a lot of pressure on other people to perform well, and they came up big – they knew what to do. To show that we could hold our own against UBC was really cool. That game was proof of what our standard is and what we can do – that we can compete with these other great athletes on the other side of the net." – UFV fourth-year outside hitter Amanda Matsui, looking back on her team's historic win at UBC on Nov. 12

"I think we're more comfortable and confident. A lot of our change-room talk is about prepping to play in the playoffs – how can we learn each week and bring it into the next weekend. Thompson Rivers didn't give us any easy points on Saturday, and it's moments like that and games like that that will prep us for the future and our own development as a team." – Matsui, on her team's mentality coming off four straight wins vs. TRU