Destination Long Beach

Expectations are high for Washington volleyball this time in the NCAA Tournament. At this time a year ago, the Washington women's volleyball began an unexpected run to the Elite Eight. This year, as the tournament begins again, the aspirations are higher and a title looms on the horizon. As the No. 7 seed in the field of 64, the Huskies (24-2 overall, 16-2 Pac-10) are reaching for the top, and championship dreams start tonight as the UW faces Idaho in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Hec Edmundson Pavilion at 7 p.m. Just six points away from beating Minnesota in the Elite Eight last year, the Huskies have the experience to get even further this season. "We know what to expect, and we'll never forget the feeling of losing in the fifth game like that," sophomore Courtney Thompson said. "We were so close to the Final Four." Washington got to this point through a season that exceeded all the expectations that came with last year's tournament run. The squad started the year on a 22-game winning streak that ended in a five-game heartbreaker at Stanford three weeks ago. The Huskies ended the season as Pac-10 champions for the first time in school history after defeating UCLA 3-1 last Saturday. The Huskies became just the fifth program in school history to gain the No. 1 ranking in the nation, an honor they held for seven straight weeks until losing to the Cardinal. They set a school record for attendance twice, and their only two losses came to a pair of top-10 teams -- No. 9 Stanford and No. 6 USC. While the resume for this year is long, coach Jim McLaughlin knows there are still goals, one of them being a NCAA title. "There is a lot more out there," McLaughlin said. "There is something very significant out there, and [the players] just wanted to get to business." Before they start thinking about the Final Four or championship rings, the UW will be focused on its game tonight against the Vandals. "If we lose we're done," junior Brie Hagerty said. "You can't look ahead because you won't ever have that next game if you don't win the first one." The Huskies send out a potent offense that put up a .296 hitting percentage led by three All-Pac-10 selections. Thompson, as a team captain, runs the team, dishing out 14.80 assists per game; she ranks second in the nation. Three players in the starting lineup average more than four kills per game -- senior Sanja Tomasavic with 4.63, Hagerty with 4.09 and Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Christal Morrison with 4.40. On defense Washington is just as tough, holding opponents to a conference-best .151 hitting percentage on the season. Junior Candace Lee, who broke the school record for digs in a career earlier this season, anchors the team with 5.74 digs per game, while junior Darla Myre averages 1.40 blocks per game. For the Vandals (17-12 overall, 9-9 Big West), junior Kati Tikker and senior Sarah Meek lead the offense. Tikker paces Idaho in kills with 4.50 with Meek second at 4.20. Senior Brooke Haeberle also adds 3.06 kills per game. Senior Mandy Becker averages a team-best 12.84 assists per game, good for third in the Big West. On defense, Becker is a top performer as well, pacing the team in blocks with 1.23 per game. Junior Meghan Brown leads Idaho in digs with 4.61 per game. If they make to the national semifinals in Long Beach, Calif., the Huskies will play the first four rounds of the tournament at home where they have lost only four games the entire season. But the first task is getting past Idaho tonight. "We're looking at Idaho now and nothing else," Hagerty said. "We have to go in and play our game and not be concerned about the next home games."

Destination Long Beach

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