As the No. 2-ranked team in the country, it’s no surprise to see the UBC Okanagan Heat head into the Canada West playoffs a unified and confident group with high expectations.
Still, fourth-year power hitter Breanna Beamish and her Heat teammates are taking the one-game-at-a-time approach in their big-picture quest to make it to CIS nationals at the end of the month.
UBC Okanagan will begin its post-season trek against the defending Canadian champion Manitoba Bisons in the best-of-three Canada West quarterfinals, starting Friday at 6 p.m. at the Kelowna campus.
“We know this is playoffs, but we try and treat this like any other match, whether it’s Brandon or TRU or Manitoba,” said Beamish, who was back in the lineup last weekend after recovering from a hamstring injury. “We know Manitoba is the defending national champs and they’re going to throw everything they have at us.
“We feel like we match up well against them and are going in feeling confident…not overconfident, but focused on what we need to do.”
Match 2 is set for Saturday at 5 p.m., with a third, if necessary, set for Sunday at 3 p.m. at UBCO.
The Heat is coming off the best regular season in its brief history with a 19-5 record, which included a 13-match winning streak.
Steve Manuel’s program has taken some major steps forward in each of its four years in Canada West. Now, no longer the new kids on the block, the Heat head coach believes his team is well-positioned to continue breaking new ground for the program.
“For the first time we’re going into this with a target on our backs and that’s fine with us, it means we’ve been progressing,” Manuel said. “We have a group that’s battle-hardened and is looking to take this further than last year.
“At the same time, we have to make sure we take care of things this weekend and play the way we’re capable of against Manitoba.”
As for peaking for the playoffs, Manuel believes his team’s best volleyball still awaits.
The Heat turned aside Brandon in back-to-back matches last weekend, setting the tone for the most important time of year.
“Brandon came in wanting those matches and gave everything they had to beat us, but the girls kept pushing back,” Manuel said. “Those were almost like playoff matches, so it was a chance to ramp up for the real thing. I don’t think we’ve played our best yet.”
The series winner will advance to the Canada West Final Four Feb. 19 and 20 at the University of Alberta.
Last year, the Heat finished fourth.
Semeniuk’s finale…
When the UBC Okanagan Heat hosts UNBC on Friday night in Canada West women’s basketball, it will mark the end of an era.
After 21 seasons at the helm of the women’s program, head coach Heather Semeniuk will be stepping down.
Semeniuk said it’s relationships, not the games the she’ll remember most about her career at UBCO.
“We as people are important, not as numbers, not as anything else,” Semeniuk says. “I don’t consider this a business. I consider it a career, something that I am passionate about, and that’s who I am. And that’s why I say this is about people and not anything else.”
The Heat and Timberwolves tip off Friday at 8 p.m.
