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Falling to UBC in the Canada West semifinal wasn鈥檛 exactly the outcome UBC Okanagan Heat women were counting on.

On the upside, the early playoff exit bought Steve Manuel鈥檚 squad a much-needed week off to prepare for the this weekend in Quebec City.

鈥淎ll things considered, it鈥檚 a pretty good scenario for us,鈥� said Manuel, whose Heat went 19-5 during the regular season. 鈥淚t was an incredibly busy second semester for us, we spent five of the last seven weekends on the road, so that was a challenging stretch.

鈥淭his (break) has given us a chance to rest, get some sleep and rehab and just reload,鈥� he added. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also given us an opportunity to address and work on some things you don鈥檛 get a chance to when you鈥檙e playing every weekend.鈥�

The Heat, seeded No. 5 in the country, will open nationals on Friday at the University of Laval with a quarterfinal match against the fourth-ranked Ryerson University Rams from Toronto.

鈥淲e鈥檝e seen them play quite a bit, they have a nice group of players and to go unbeaten in Ontario, you have to be doing something right,鈥� Manuel said of the Rams. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e a good team and well-coached, so like all the matches there, it won鈥檛 be easy.鈥�

UBCO is one of four Canada West teams at nationals. The Calgary Dinos head in as the top seed, while UBC is third and Alberta is rated seventh. The University of Montreal (No. 2), host Laval Rouge et Or and Dalhousie round out the eight-team field.

Here is the seeding for the U SPORTS women鈥檚 馃彁 championship! 馃檶 // Voici le classement pour le championnat de volleyball f茅minin de U SPORTS

鈥� U SPORTS (@USPORTSca)

Manuel said any one of 鈥渇our or five鈥� teams鈥攊ncluding the Heat鈥攊s capable of claiming the Canadian title, with no fewer than six being legitimate medal contenders.

鈥淚 think we鈥檙e in a good place going in,鈥� said Manuel. 鈥淭he players are poised, confident and excited about the chance to be playing for a national medal.鈥�

The Heat competed once before at the U Sports nationals, winning a bronze medal in Brandon in 2016.

Five current UBCO players were on that medal-winning squad鈥擡rin Drew, Michelle Jakszuk, Siobhan Fitzpatrick, Sophia Furlan and Skye Thompson.

As for his program鈥檚 second appearance at the big show, Manuel said it鈥檚 important for the Heat to strike a balance between the task at hand and simply enjoying the experience.

鈥淚t鈥檚 such a privilege to play in this championship, a lot of players go through their entire university careers without getting close to this,鈥� said Manuel.

鈥淥ur sole focus is to win, but if it doesn鈥檛 happen it鈥檚 not the be-all end-all. We鈥檙e going there with the idea that we can bring home a national medal, so we need to embrace the entire experience and enjoy it as much as we can.鈥�

The U Sports national gold medal final goes Sunday in Quebec City at 2 p.m. Pacific time.

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