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The Daily

UW looks for sole possession of title

By Ben Miller
The Washington volleyball squad looks to complete its first Pac-10 championship this weekend as it hosts USC and UCLA. The No. 3 Huskies (23-1 overall, 15-1 Pac-10) claimed at least a share of the conference title by splitting matches last weekend against Stanford and California. The UW suffered its first loss of the season Friday against the Cardinal, falling in the fifth game, ending Washington's program-best 22 game win streak to start a season. The Huskies rebounded to defeat the Golden Bears 3-1 the next day. With one win this weekend, the UW can claim its first Pac-10 championship outright and received an automatic birth into the NCAA Tournament as the conference winner. The Huskies have been unbeatable this season at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, sweeping all seven home matches this season. The No. 6 Women of Troy (18-4, 13-3) are the defending back-to-back national champions, fighting to claim a share of the Pac-10 title for themselves Friday night. The two teams faced off earlier this year, with the UW squeaking out a 3-2 victory on the road. Leading the offensive attack for USC is outside hitter Keao Burdine, who is seventh in the Pac-10 averaging 3.82 kills per game. As a team, they have a .297 hitting percentage on the season. Southern California's four losses this season have all come against ranked teams. The No. 16 Bruins (17-9, 10-6) end the Husky conference season with their match Saturday night. Washington kicked off conference play earlier this season against UCLA in a 3-1 victory in Los Angeles. Chrissie Zartman and Nana Meriwether anchor a tough UCLA defense. Meriwether is first in the Pac-10 in blocks with 1.56 per game while Zartman collects 5.59 digs per game, second in the conference. For Washington, sophomore Courtney Thompson and freshman Christal Morrison lead the offense. Thompson dishes out 14.82 assists per game -- second in the nation -- while Morrison collects 4.39 kpg. With its regular season completed Saturday, Washington finds out its postseason fate Sunday as the 64-team field of the NCAA Tournament is announced at 3:45 p.m. on ESPNEWS. The Huskies are one of sixteen teams hosting the first and second rounds, which begin Dec. 10.
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