Pac-10 Volleyball | Friday-night showdown: UW vs. Stanford

They are the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the Pac-10, No. 4 and No. 5 in the country, and for the sixth straight season they square off in a late-season duel that has become the Showcase Showdown of Pac-10 volleyball.

First-place Washington (19-2, 9-2 Pac-10) hosts second-place Stanford (15-6, 8-3) tonight at 7 at Edmundson Pavilion in what is annually the UW's most eagerly anticipated home volleyball match.

What's driving the buzz?

Bragging rights: For six years running the match has either decided the Pac-10 champion or, as in tonight's case, gives the winner the inside track to the Pac-10 title. Either Washington (in 2004 and 2005) or Stanford (2006-08) has won the last five Pac-10 crowns; the other team has placed second.

History: This is not a bad-blood rivalry, but since UW attained national-power status in 2003, matches are meaningful and intense. The Huskies knocked Stanford out of postseason play in 2003; Stanford turned the tables in 2004 and '06 and eliminated UW.

On Oct. 10, Stanford rallied from a 2-1 deficit at home to hand UW its first loss after a 15-0 start. The Cardinal was also first to trip up UW's 2004 team after a 22-0 start. Since 2003 the Huskies are 7-9 vs. Stanford, making the Cardinal the most annoying Pac-10 thorn in UW's side.

Washington was the 2009 preseason pick of conference coaches to win the Pac-10. UW coach Jim McLaughlin says he's eager to claim another trophy.

"It's huge," said McLaughlin, who came to Washington in 2001 — the same year John Dunning became coach at Stanford — and in four years transformed a last-place program into a Pac-10 champion.

"Winning a Pac-10 title is a significant accomplishment," he said. "It shows you've won the toughest conference in the country. [Eight Pac-10 teams are ranked in this week's top 25.] It shows you're capable of winning a national title."

McLaughlin regards the regular season as a prolonged dress rehearsal for postseason play and says he views no opponent as a rival, just another training opportunity.

"It's an important game, but next week's game will be as important," McLaughlin said. "Our emphasis is on improvement, making progress one day at a time. It's what we've been preaching from Day 1."

Notes

• Fox Sports Northwest will air a taped version of Friday's match this weekend (time to be determined). FSN will also air (though likely not live) UW at UCLA on Nov. 14 and UW at Washington State on Nov. 21.

• On Saturday at 7 the Huskies host 13th-ranked California and 6-foot-4 senior outside hitter Croatian Hana Cutura, ranked third nationally in kills per set (5.03). In October, UW swept Cal 3-0 in Berkeley.

• UW has dropped four straight matches to Stanford, last winning in 2006.

• McLaughlin replaced sophomore middle blocker Lauren Barfield with redshirt freshman Kelcey Dunaway in last Sunday's starting lineup. "Kelcey has been playing lights out," he said. "She's this very mindful, deliberate kid."