Dinos look to stay hot at home

CALGARY – The Thompson River University WolfPack (5-5) will travel to the Jack Simpson Gym this weekend to face off against the University of Calgary Dinos women’s volleyball team (7-3) for their first meeting of the season.
 
The games will take place on Friday at 7:45 p.m. and Saturday at 6 p.m. in the Jack Simpson Gymnasium.
 
Friday’s game is also the annual Block Party for the Dinos. Before the game, join the Dinos at The Landing, with music by DJ Woodford Munro and free Dinos swag available.
 
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

– The Dinos currently sit in third place in the Canada West standings with a 7-3 record. The Dinos head into the weekend on a four-game win streak, including a sweep of provincial rival Alberta last time out. Meanwhile, the WolfPack sit in a logjam in the middle of the Canada West standings, tied with four other schools in seventh place with a 5-5 mark, thus far.
 
2. TOP-10 – The weekly U SPORTS Top 10 rankings were announced earlier this week and, to no one’s surprise, the Dinos earned their first ranking of the year. Calgary checked in at No. 8 this week following a convincing weekend sweep over previously fourth-ranked Alberta. This marks the first top-10 ranking for the program since finishing the 2018-19 season ranked second in the nation.
 
3. FIRST MEETINGS – This weekend will be the first time the WolfPack and Dinos will meet this season. It marks the first time the programs will meet in conference play since a weekend set in the very early going of the 2019-20 season in a series sweep by TRU in Kamloops. That snapped a five-game win streak by the Dinos. Calgary owns a 24-6 all-time record against the WolfPack dating back to TRU’s inaugural season in 2005-06.
 
4. KILLERS ON THE COURT – Daisy Olsen currently sits in the top spot in Calgary’s balanced offence for kills this season with an impressive 102. She has 123 points alone, including blocks and service aces. For the WolfPack, Ema Polkovicova holds the number one spot on the team in kills with 144 this season, tying her for third most in Canada West this season.
 
5. YEAR-TWO TURNAROUND – The Dinos are off to an impressive start in the second season under head coach Christine Biggs. At 7-3 and ranked eighth in this week’s national poll, the Dinos have already eclipsed last year’s conference win total before the winter break, with the opportunity to add to that this weekend.
 
-UC-