WSU volleyball (16-7, 8-4 Pac-12) is riding off a 1-1 home weekend where they played tough against Stanford and swept California while having a historic first set, and are heading back on the road after an extended stay in Pullman.

With only eight games left in the regular season, every win is vital for the team to get the best ranking possible for the NCAA tournament. 

The weekend’s first match is at 6 p.m. on Friday against the Oregon State Beavers (7-15, 2-10).

In the first matchup between the two schools, WSU took care of business in a sweep 3-0 (25-14, 25-21, 25-19). It was a team victory where the entire team played noticeably well at the service line and with their attacks. 

WSU looks to play just as well even while on the road and should take care of business relatively quickly against the Beavers, as long as the team can resist overlooking this match while preparing for the Ducks.

After they take care of business in Corvallis, Oregon Wazzu will face Oregon on Sunday at noon heading to Eugene, Oregon.

They will need all the momentum they can muster for their rematch against Oregon (15-5, 9-3), which they took down in an exciting five-set match earlier this year in Bohler Gym. The final score of that series was 3-2 (22-25, 28-26, 13-25, 25-18, 15-9).

Laura Jansen led the way in that match with a final stat line of a team-leading 17 digs on top of her 11 kills, one block and one ace. Despite the team’s outstanding performances, the game’s story was about someone who was not even in the gym.

That person was Hannah Pukis, WSU to Oregon transfer and All-American setter, who missed the game due to an undisclosed reason. 

Pukis is expected to play on Sunday when the two teams match up in Eugene and she may just be the difference maker. The Ducks are currently on a five-game winning streak and with home-court advantage and their star setter, they will be favored to take the win. 

The Cougs never have and will never care about which team is favored and they look to take a second straight match and go duck-hunting. 

Players to watch out for:

Argentina Ung — Ung may now get her chance to show what she is got against who she replaced. As the setter, she has been dominating on both offense and defense for the Cougs and when she has an excellent passing night, the team is unstoppable. 

Laura Jansen — Jansen dominated the last time she played these two schools. Look for her to try to replicate that performance. 

Pia Timmer — Postgame against Oregon, Timmer talked about the team’s extra desire to take down the Ducks; that fire will still be lit beneath her and the team on Sunday.