The No. 2 Stanford women’s volleyball team (20-2, 11-2 Pac-10) will embark on its longest road trip of the season this weekend as it heads north to take on the Washington State Cougars (6-16, 0-12) and the No. 11 Washington Huskies (18-5, 7-5) on Friday and Saturday. The Cardinal approaches the weekend fresh off a pair of wins in Maples Pavilion last weekend that allowed the team to reclaim a tie atop the conference standings with No. 4 California (21-2, 11-2).

Three returning All-American seniors have contributed significantly to the Cardinal’s success thus far. Outside hitter Alix Klineman, libero Gabi Ailes and setter/opposite Cassidy Lichtman have led the Card to the top of the Pac-10 in both hitting percentage and assists per set, as well as second in digs per set.

The Card has been able to better utilize Lichtman as both a setter and an opposite hitter since the return of sophomore setter Karissa Cook. After earning her 11th double-double of the season, Lichtman was recognized as Pac-10 player of the week for the first time in her Stanford career.

The Cardinal seniors will enter Bohler Gym in Pullman this Friday to take on the Cougars for the last time this season. WSU comes into the match off a loss to in-state rival Washington in straight sets last weekend, and has not won a single conference match this season. The Cougars bottom out the Pac-10 in every conference statistic aside from service aces, where they rank seventh (Stanford, in comparison, ranks ninth).

Nonetheless, Washington State does post impressive statistics from its primary outside hitter–junior Meagan Ganzer is third in the Pac-10 in both kills per set (4.80) and points per set (5.45). Ganzer posted 12 kills on 38 swings against the Card at Maples last month, but was held to a less-than-stellar .105 hitting percentage by the Stanford defense. Ailes picked up 19 digs in three quick sets.

The Huskies, though perennial conference contenders, have not met their traditional success in the Pac-10 this season. Until beating the Cougars in Pullman last weekend, Washington had dropped five consecutive matches on the road, relegating the team to fourth place in the conference standings.

The Huskies remain on the brink of the top 10 in the AVCA Coaches’ Poll because they remain undefeated in Hec Edmundson Pavilion this season. Although Stanford brought down the Huskies in four close sets earlier this season, 24-26, 25-17, 25-16, 32-30, the Card has fallen in its last two visits to Seattle–the team has posted a 4-5 record on the road against Washington under current head coach John Dunning.

Freshman middle blocker Carly Wopat anticipated the importance of playing “our calm and collected game without letting being on the road interfere with what we can do.”

With redshirt junior middle blocker Stephanie Browne sidelined by injury, Wopat has become Stanford’s team leader in blocks per set.

Led by senior outside and opposite hitters Becky Perry and Kindra Carlson, as well as senior setter Jenna Hagglund, Washington’s fast pin-to-pin offense may pose trouble for the Stanford block. Although the Card posted 10 blocks against the Huskies last month, Carlson’s .184 hitting percentage was significantly lower than her season average of .312, making her less of a priority than usual.

Carlson and Perry rank eighth and ninth in the Pac-10 in points earned per set, making Washington the only team in the conference to have two players in the top 10. Perry picked up 24.5 points with 24 kills in the loss to Stanford at Maples last month. However, Stanford’s Klineman leads the conference in this statistic, bringing in an average of 6.26 points per set for the Card. The senior put up 32 kills against the Huskies at Maples in the first half of conference play.

The match should yield a battle at the net, with Stanford posting the highest hitting percentage in the nation at .319 and Washington posting the lowest opponent hitting percentage in the Pac-10 at .158.

Wopat said that the Card would emphasize “putting up a solid block and getting touches, so Gabi [Ailes] can dig everything that gets by.”

Ailes and Husky libero Jenna Orlandi both put up digging averages in the conference’s top three.

“The end game,” Wopat added, “is to out-pass-and-serve them.”

Stanford will take on the Cougars this Friday at 7 p.m. in Pullman, before traveling to Seattle the next day to face the Huskies at 7 p.m.