Huge weekend for the Heat

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• Busy weekend for UBCO Heat athletics all over the province
• Heat women blank Douglas
• Heat hoops visit UFV
• Kelowna U14 Heat strike gold
• UBCO Heat hit hard court for basketball exhibitions
• Key weekend for Heat volleyball squads

It's a busy weekend of action for UBC Okanagan Heat varsity teams, including the men's and women's volleyball squads who make their Canada West debuts Friday night at the UBCO gym.

Here's a brief look at all of the Heat's weekend events:

• Volleyball

The men’s and women’s volleyball teams will open up the Canada West season for the first time at home when they host the University of Winnipeg Wesmen. Be a part of history as UBC Okanagan enters another chapter in their athletic life with their move to Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS). Games are Friday Oct. 28 at 6 p.m. for the women and 8 p.m. for the men. Saturday evening they will play the Wesmen again: Women at 6 p.m. and men at 8 p.m.
• Soccer
Kelowna will be hosting the PACWEST provincial soccer championships this weekend. All games will be on the Nonis Sports Field at UBC’s Okanagan campus. Tournament website: www.goheat.ca/soccer 
The Heat men’s soccer team has qualified for the championship for the first time since 1998 with a (4-2-5) record and will open up the tournament Friday at 3:30 p.m. when they battle the Kwantlen Eagles (4-5-3). The Heat faced the Eagles on the first weekend of league play in Newton, BC and came away with a 4-0 victory. Should the Heat win, they will face the Vancouver Island Mariners Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
The Heat women’s soccer team finished (8-1-2) and finished atop the standings to go into the tournament with a bye right to the semi-final. The Heat will play Saturday at 10:30 a.m. and will face the winner of the Kwantlen Eagles versus the Vancouver Island Mariners quarterfinal game.

• Rugby

The Heat rugby squad will play in the first annual Canadian Direct Hindson Cup versus the University of Calgary Dinos, the Alberta champions. The game will take place Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in the Apple Bowl.

The Dinos soundly defeated the University of Alberta 55-11 in their CanWest playoff for the right to face the Heat in the inaugural Canadian Direct Hindson Cup championship game. The Heat team were granted the berth in the final due to Simon Fraser University’s injury-driven forfeit.

Heat coach Rob O’Brien thinks the upcoming matchup will feature some high quality rugby, but UBC Okanagan won’t be outclassed on the field.

“The team that we have put together at UBC Okanagan may be young, but they are competitive and have tremendous pride in being able to wear the Heat jersey,” said O’Brien.
• Basketball
The men’s basketball team will finish their preseason schedule with a two game series versus the Vancouver Island Mariners. The first game will be off campus on Saturday at 8 p.m. at Mount Boucherie Secondary in West Kelowna. On Sunday at 12 p.m. the teams will lock horns again, this time in the gymnasium at UBC’s Okanagan campus.