PREVIEW: Heat look to hold off the invading Spartans

A big task looms ahead for the UBC Okanagan men's volleyball team as they host the top ranked team in the country for a pair of matches this weekend. The No. 1 Trinity Western Spartans are (13-1) and will play the home Heat Friday with a first serve at 8 p.m. and then on Saturday at 7 p.m.

UBC OKANAGAN HEAT (7-18, 4-10 Canada West)
CIS National Ranking: N/A
CanWest Standings: 10th
Last week: 0-2 vs Winnipeg
Streak: 5L
2015-16 Record: (12-24, 4-20)  (11th)
2016 CanWest Playoffs: N/A
2016 CIS Tournament: N/A
Last CanWest Title: N/A
Last CIS Title: N/A

• SCHEDULE
• ROSTER
• STATS
• STANDINGS

This Week for the Heat: The Heat men’s volleyball team are set to take on the Trinity Western Spartans, playing their first matches on the friendly hardwood of the UBC Okanagan gym of 2017.

Current Form: The Heat men are currently on a five-match losing streak, dating back to December 3. They sit ninth in the Canada West standings with a record of 4-10 but just four wins away from a playoff spot.

Key Players: Libero Eli Risso leads the conference in both digs, with 176, and digs per set, with 3.45. Fifth year outside hitter Alex Swiatlowski sits fourth in the conference in hitting percentage, at .321.

Team Stat: The Heat are currently second in Canada West in digs, with 547 so far this season, and are averaging 10.73 digs per set.

Overall Heat to Heat vs. Trinity Western: The Heat are 0-8 against the Spartans since joining Canada West back in 2012. Their last meetings were Feb. 5 & 6, 2016, when Trinity Western won both matches 3-0.

#1 TRINITY WESTERN UNIVERSITY SPARTANS (13-1)      
CIS National Ranking: 1st
CanWest Standings: T-1st
Last week: 2-0 vs. TRU
Streak: 2W
2015-16 record, conference: 14-10, 7th
2016 CW playoffs: 4-1, 1st
Last CW title: 2016 / 3
Last CIS title: 2016 / 4

• SCHEDULE
• ROSTER
• STATS
• STANDINGS

preseason preview courtesy of Canadawest.org

Spartans coming into this Weekend: Trinity Western currently hold a conference record of 13-1, suffering their only loss against Saskatchewan on January 7. They sit atop the Canada West standings, and are ranked #1 in the U Sports Top 10.

Schedule Notes: The Spartans are yet to face either of the other two teams, in Manitoba and Alberta, that round out the top three in Canada West. In their 11-match winning streak to start this season, they faced only two teams who currently hold winning records, those being Mount Royal (8-4) and Saskatchewan (7-5).

Key Players: Ryan Sclater, Eric Loeppky, and Aaron Boettcher are all near the top of Canada West statistically. Sclater has the second-most kills (213), second-best kills per set average in the conference (4.26) and is fourth in service aces per set (0.46). Loeppky leads the conference in aces per set (0.52), and owns the second-best hitting percentage (.330). Boettcher averages 1.23 blocks per set, fourth-best in Canada West, and 0.48 service aces per set, putting him second behind Loeppky.

Team Stat: The Spartans are the most efficient hitting team in Canada West at the moment, with a conference-high team hitting percentage of .313.

Key additions (name / position / eligibility / hometown / last team):

Eric Loeppky / OH / 1 / Steinbach, Man. / Steinbach Regional
Kaden Gamache / OH / Abbotsford, B.C. / MEI
Maddux Greves / S / Calgary / William Aberhart

Key losses:

Tyler Koslowsky / Libero / Abbotsford, B.C. / 5

Key performers:

Ryan Sclater / Left Side / 5^th-year / Port Coquitlam, B.C.

#BellLetsTalk

UBC Okanagan student athletes are a part of more than 20,000 across Canada taking part in the Bell Let's Talk Day. This January 25, the student-athletes will help lead the campus conversation about mental health, joining with fellow students and others in the university community to discuss the impact of mental illness and how to fight the stigma that keeps too many from seeking help.

This Friday's matches at UBC Okanagan are part of over 100 university sports games across Canada hosting Bell Let's Talk events. To learn more, please visit Bell.ca/OneTeam

Bell Let’s Talk Day

On January 25, Bell will donate 5 cents to Canadian mental health programs for each of these interactions at no extra charge to participants:

• Every text message, mobile and long distance call made by Bell Canada and Bell Aliant customers.
• Twitter: Every tweet using #BellLetsTalk
• Facebook: Every view of the Bell Let’s Talk Day video at Facebook.com/BellLetsTalk
• Instagram: Every post using #BellLetsTalk
• Snapchat: Every use of the Bell Let’s Talk Snapchat geofilter

Bell Let's Talk Day 2016 set new records with 125.9 million messages of support, growing Bell's funding for Canadian mental health by $6,295,764.75. #BellLetsTalk was the #1 Twitter hashtag in Canada for all of 2016, and the most used in the world on Bell Let's Talk Day 2016.

With its original anchor donation of $50 million and the results of the first 6 Bell Let's Talk Days, Bell's total commitment to mental health now stands at $79,919,178.55, and is expected to surpass $100 million in 2020. To learn more, please visit Bell.ca/LetsTalk.