Originally published Friday, October 24, 2008 at 12:00 AM

UW volleyball faces bottom-of-conference WSU

Washington State has not defeated Washington in volleyball since 2002, and that pattern is likely to continue tonight when the sixth-ranked Huskies (15-3, 6-2 Pac-10) host basement-dwelling WSU (7-12, 0-8) at Edmundson Pavilion at 7 p.m.

By Terry Wood

Special to The Seattle Times

After four straight wins, three over higher-ranked teams, can UW players avoid coasting mentally against an opponent that has managed just eight Pac-10 victories the past four-plus seasons?

"I've told them nothing is guaranteed," said Washington coach Jim McLaughlin. "If you relax at all, you're vulnerable. Every match is its own entity, has its own history. I just want to see us play better and improve every time.

"The best way to show respect for an opponent is to play your A-game and crush them."

When the weekend ends, marking the midpoint of the Pac-10 schedule, the youthful Huskies are assured of being in third place (or possibly higher) — a good showing for a team predicted to finish fifth in the preseason Pac-10 coaches' poll.

With six weeks to play before the NCAA tournament begins Dec. 4, McLaughlin is seeking improvement in UW's blocking, serving, "tough-swing situations" (e.g., attacking when sets are less than ideal) and quick sets teed up for fast kills from middle blockers Jessica Swarbrick and Bianca Rowland.

Upgraded passing, particularly among his outside hitters, is also on McLaughlin's task list.

"There's never a day when we're not working on passing in practice," McLaughlin said. "We've got to keep getting better, but compared to where we were in the beginning of the year, wow, we've gone up a lot."

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