Five teams -- including Bisons swimming at Pan Am Pool and cross-country at Kilcona Park -- are at home this weekend in an unprecedented weekend of fun. 

FOOTBALL VERSUS ALBERTA AT 7 PM ON FRIDAY AT IGF (CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS)
On the football field, 3-3 Manitoba is looking for a historic fifth consecutive playoff birth when they host No. 7 nationally ranked Alberta, 5-1 on the year. The Bisons are firmly entrenched in the fourth and final playoff spot in the conference, and have the season series with 1-5 Regina. A win and they are in, or a loss by 1-5 Calgary. 

Manitoba fell to Alberta on the road in week two, however they lost starting quarterback Jackson Tachinski to injury late in the second quarter. His return two weeks later changed the Herd's trajectory. During that span they are 3-0, after starting the season 0-3. Tachinski has a combined for 1,059 yards in the air and on the ground, along with nine total touchdowns and no interceptions in those three weeks. His most recent performance against Regina in a 34-27 win earned him Canada West Offensive Player of the Week honours for the second time in as many weeks. 

Additionally, receivers and roommates Brendt Adams and De Shawn Le Jour have combined for 554 yards and six touchdowns on the season. They are just two majors each away from the top five in single-season program history, while 2021 All-Canadian AK Gassama has added 339 yards and a score. His 1306 yards receving overall as a Bison ranks seventh in program history. 

On the defensive side of the ball, safety Stephen Adamopoulos and halfbacks Nick Conway and Jarrett Alcaraz are approaching program records in pass breakups. Adamopoulos and Conway's 15 are fourth all-time (PBUs have been tracked since the 2002 season), just six shy of the all-time mark set by Marcel Arruda-Welch last year. Alcaraz is in seventh overall, with 12 pass breakups. Overall, the Herd's nine interceptions are second in the conference, with cornerback Sebastien Reid tied for first in CanWest, with three. 

The key to stopping Alberta will be in the run game, where Matthew Peterson leads the nation with 975 rushing yards, while the Golden Bears racked up 287 yards on the ground the last time the two sides squared off. Over the last 22 seasons, Manitoba is 20-16-1 against the Golden Bears, and are 3-1 at home in their last four against the U of A. Their last meeting at IG Field took place in 2018, where the Bisons won 37-21. 


WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL VERSUS REGINA AT IGAC AT 6 PM FRIDAY AND 2 PM SATURDAY (CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS)
Returning every starter from last year and every roster member but one, the women's volleyball team is a front-runner for a national title, after advancing to the final four at nationals last season. Coaches across western Canada agree, ranking the Herd second in the annual pre-season coaches poll. 

The Bisons open their 2023-24 season at home against Regina this weekend, at team they are 25-6 against dating back to the 2007 season. The Herd are 11-1 against the Cougars in their last 12, and have only lost three sets over their last five games against the U of R. 

Reigning U SPORTS Rookie of the Year Raya Surinx and veteran hitter Ella Gray both competed for Team Canada's NextGen program this summer. Gray travelled to Mexico, and Surinx was in Mexico and the Dominican Republic during that time for the U23 Pan Am Cup and NORCECA Final 6, respectively. Additionally, libero Julia Arnold returns after recording 532 digs last season, while setter Katreena Bentley had 1,115 assists and middles Brenna Bedosky and Eva Catojo combined for over 150 blocks. As a team, the Herd also had 1,209 digs. Their defensive intensity will be a strength all year. 


WOMEN'S HOCKEY VERSUS MACEWAN AT 7 PM ON FRIDAY AND 2 PM ON SATURDAY AT WAYNE FLEMING ARENA (CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS)
Women's hockey is 3-1 against MacEwan in their last four games, and will look to make it 5-1 when they host the Griffins this weekend. The Herd are looking for their first win of the conference season against 1-5 MacEwan. 

Thirteen different Griffins have scored a point this season, while the Bisons are led by forwards kate Gregoire and Kylie Lesuk, who've combined for six points.

Gregoire played in her 80th career game for Manitoba last Saturday, and no Bison has more cumulative points (43) than her dating back to her rookie campaign in 2019-20. 

Lesuk was one of the team leaders in blocked shots last weekend against top-ranked UBC, with four in one period in the Saturday game, while Manitoba as a whole is among the top of the conference in overall shot blocks.

Additionally, second-year forward Dana Goertzen, one of the team's standouts in the pre-season, has two points in her first four games, and is second on the team with eight shots. She's well on her way to breaking her rookie season numbers, which included five points. The team leader in shots is Julia Bird, with 11 in four games.