Huskies start off Pac-10 right

As the defending national champions, every match is a test for the Washington women's volleyball squad. Whether it is an upstart program taking a swing at the top or an established powerhouse trying to take out the leader, the Huskies can expect the best from every opponent they play during the season.

Last weekend, the UW took on a pair of top-10 teams and came out with dominating performances in both contests, showing once again that Hec Edmundson Pavilion is the place to go for top-notch volleyball.

The No. 4 Huskies (12-1 overall, 2-0 Pac-10) swept both Stanford (10-2, 1-1) and California (12-1, 1-1) to open up Pac-10 play with consecutive victories. The win over the sixth-ranked Cardinal marked the 12th sweep that Washington has had against an opponent so far this season in 13 matches.

"To come out the first weekend and get two solid wins is great," senior Courtney Thompson said.

The weekend opened up with a match against the No. 8 Golden Bears last Saturday. The Huskies were led by junior Stevie Mussie's 19 kills as they gave Cal its first loss of the season with game scores of 30-17, 30-16 and 30-24.

Washington dished out the defeat the way it normally does, using a high-powered offensive attack and a stifling effort on defense. The UW hit .415 on the night while holding the Bears to an average of just .143.

Junior Christal Morrison was second on the team with 10 kills.

And while the win over Cal was a great way to start conference play, it was the highly anticipated match-up against Stanford last Friday that was expected to be the biggest test for the Huskies on the weekend.

The Cardinal had opened up the season chosen as the winner of the Pac-10 in the preseason poll. Even though the UW was ranked higher in the national poll, it was slated to finish third in volleyball's most competitive conference.

What was expected to be a dogfight turned into a Washington offensive display as the Huskies hit .364 and powered their way to a sweep with game scores of 30-21, 30-28, and 30-25.

"It's just a big-time win for our program," coach Jim McLaughlin said. 'stanford is a good team and they have a lot of firepower, but we had good composure."

Morrison led the UW offensive barrage with 17 kills while committing no errors in the three games.

"I'm just excited," she said. "One thing that we always strive for is to minus our errors, and I was pretty excited for myself that I didn't make an error."

Middleblocker Alesha Deesing hit a match-high .778.

"We served and passed really well, and I was able to have any options I wanted," Thompson said.

Though the Huskies looked to be in end-of-season form, they still think they are far from peaking at this point in the year.

"We keep improving every day in practice, and it's awesome to see what this team can do right now," Morrison said. "I know that we can get better."

Reporter Ben Miller: benmiller@thedaily.washington.edu