From left to right, men's volleyball and women's volleyball will be in action on home court this weekend.

General 1/8/2025 2:04:00 PM Sophia Johansen

HEAT THIS WEEK: Volleyball returns from holiday break to host rival Thunderbirds

Men's and women's volleyball take centre stage with showdown against sister-school UBC with basketball on a bye

KELOWNA, B.C. - Canada West regular season action resumes this weekend as the UBC Okanagan Heat volleyball teams get set to host the UBC Thunderbirds in a weekend doubleheader at the UBCO Gymnasium.

Meanwhile, the Heat basketball teams will be on a bye week as they enjoy an extra week to prepare for the return of regular season action next weekend.

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Men's Volleyball
January 10th vs UBC Thunderbirds - 5:00 PM - UBCO Gymnasium
January 11th vs UBC Thunderbirds - 4:00PM - UBCO Gymnasium
Tickets - Available at the door on game day

Men's volleyball is back at home for their first games of the New Year as they are set to face the U SPORTS No. 7 nationally ranked UBC Thunderbirds. In this year's preseason the Heat met the Tbirds in the Blue Cup and were able to take a set off the Tbirds 25-19 despite an eventual 3-1 loss.

During the holiday break the Heat traveled down to Arizona to play against the No. 9 NCAA D1 ranked Grand Canyon University. Though the team couldn't take a win off the Lopes, they were able to take a first set 25-20 victory on Friday night and gained valuable experience playing against a team who reached the semifinals of the NCAA Championship last year.

Looking forward into the second half of the Heat's 2024-25 season, Thys Westrate and Zach van Geel will look to continue their strong seasons as each have made significant contributions to their team's success thus far. Weststrate currently ranks first in Canada West in hitting efficiency at 0.452 percent as well as being the Canada West leading blocker averaging 1.12 blocks per set. Van Geel is ranked the third best setter in Canada West averaging 8.81 assists per set and sits fifth for serving aces averaging 0.44 per set.

Women's Volleyball
January 10th vs UBC Thunderbirds - 7:00 PM - UBCO Gymnasium
January 11th vs UBC Thunderbirds - 6:00 PM - UBCO Gymnasium
Tickets - Available at the door on game day

Women's volleyball is also back at home this weekend as they are set to battle the U SPORTS No. 1 nationally ranked UBC Thunderbirds. The last time these two teams met the Heat managed to push the T-Birds to five sets when the sister-school rivals met back on January 5 of last year.

The Heat women look to finish the second half of their season with a bang after splitting their final weekend of the regular season in November against the Calgary Dinos.

So far this season, the Heat have seen a number of their players raise their level to where they are among the top players in the conference. Madison Gardner ranks second in Canada West in blocks per set averaging 1.21, while Natalie Funk sits fourth averaging 1.06 per set. Kylan Finseth has been making her mark in her first year at UBCO, ranking third in aces per set averaging 0.59.

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Players Mentioned

#7 Kylan Finseth: S; 5' 9"; Junior; 3rd Year

#20 Natalie Funk: M; 6' 3"; Fifth Year; 4th Year

#8 Madison Gardner: M; 6' 3"; Senior; 3rd Year

#5 Zach van Geel: S; 6' 3"; Senior; 4th Year

Players Mentioned

#7 Kylan Finseth
: 5' 9"; Junior; 3rd Year
: S

#20 Natalie Funk
: 6' 3"; Fifth Year; 4th Year
: M

#8 Madison Gardner
: 6' 3"; Senior; 3rd Year
: M

#5 Zach van Geel
: 6' 3"; Senior; 4th Year
: S