KELOWNA, B.C. - For the first time in eight years, UBCO will host Canada West playoff games as the Heat men's volleyball team faces the Manitoba Bisons in the conference quarter-finals this weekend. Meanwhile, the Heat golf teams start up their spring season at the RMC Intercollegiate at Lake Las Vegas early next week.

HOME
Men's Volleyball (Best-of-3 Quarter-final)
Game 1: February 27th vs Manitoba Bisons - 6:30 PM - UBCO Gymnasium
Game 2: February 28th vs Manitoba Bisons - 6:30 PM - UBCO Gymnasium
Game 3: March 1st vs Manitoba Bisons - 5:30 PM - UBCO Gymnasium (If necessary)
Tickets - GoHeat.ca/Tickets
Webcast - CanadaWest.tv presented by BioSteel; CBCSports.ca/Telus Optik TV Ch. 1997 (Friday night only)

For the first time in team history, the U SPORTS No. 4-ranked Heat men's volleyball team will host Canada West playoff games as they battle the U SPORTS No. 8-ranked Manitoba Bisons in the quarter-finals of the 2025-26 Canada West playoffs.  

The series is a rematch of last year's Canada West Play-In Round series between the Heat and Bisons that Manitoba won in two games. However, the Heat were victorious in both regular season matchups with the Bisons, winning the season-opening series in Manitoba back in October.

UBCO and Manitoba have met five previous times in the Canada West playoffs with the Bisons winning all five games. The Heat, though, have made it a habit of establishing team firsts during the 2025-26 campaign, including posting the most wins in program history while also having multiple Canada West all-stars in a year after setter Zach van Geel was named to the first team and middle Thys Weststrate was named to the second team this week.

Both teams enter the weekend very evenly matched in a number of statistical categories. UBCO had a hitting percentage of 0.282 this season while the Bisons sat at 0.283. The two teams were ranked first (Manitoba) and second (UBCO) in total blocks in 2025-26 while the Heat were third in digs per set (9.54) and Manitoba fourth (9.16).

The winner of the series will advance to the Canada West Final Four next weekend where three teams will look to punch their ticket to the U SPORTS Championship in Windsor, Ont., from March 13-15.

AWAY
Men's and Women's Golf
March 3rd-March 4th - RMC Intercollegiate at Lake Las Vegas - Reflection Bay GC, Henderson, Nev.

The Heat golf teams get their spring season underway at the RMC Intercollegiate at Lake Las Vegas in Nevada next Tuesday. The men will be playing Ryan Gillis, Andrew Rouble, Chris Jo, Ryan Vest and Oakley Mayner while the women will feature Julia Alexander-Carew, Lauren Nedo, Bess Chan, Eva Hogue and Emily Cornwall.

Last season, UBCO's women's team earned a third place finish at the event with Cornwall taking home the individual championship. As for the men's team, they placed sixth as Andrew Rouble earned a tie for 20th.