The Huskies will face off against Arizona and Arizona State over Thanksgiving weekend in their last two matches of the season. The No. 5 Huskies enter this weekend riding a six-match winning streak with a 13-3 Pac-10 record.

The Huskies are two games behind first place Stanford, but could take first place if they sweep this weekend’s matches while Stanford loses both games. However, coach Jim McLaughlin wants to keep the team’s focus internal.

“You know, we have seven more days of practice and we can get a lot of work done in those seven days,” McLaughlin said. “It’s the same as always, just keep getting better.”

The UW will have its toughest challenge first, when they play the Wildcats Friday. The Wildcats are coming off wins over Oregon State and No. 8 Oregon. Despite their 6-10 Pac-10 record, the Wildcats will put up a fight.

“They’re a big physical team and they’ve made some improvements,” McLaughlin said. “They’ll be a good challenge for us.”

The last time the two teams faced off, the Huskies won a hard fought contest in five sets.

Arizona sophomore Tiffany Owens won both Pac-10 and Sports Imports/AVCA Division I national player of the week honors for her 22-kill, eight-dig, three-block performance in Arizona’s upset of Oregon. The Huskies are going to have to limit her effectiveness this week to win.

“She’s a good player,” McLaughlin said. “We are going to have to be in good spots and know where she is at all times.”

On Saturday the Huskies will take on the 13-16 Sun Devils in their last regular season match. The last time these two teams faced off in Tempe, Ariz., they battled for five sets with the Huskies ultimately emerging victorious. The Sun Devils will look to challenge the Huskies again at home.

“They’ll be a good challenge also, but first we have to take care of Arizona,” McLaughlin said.

Setter Jenna Hagglund will have a chance at Husky records this weekend. Hagglund has 2,573 career assists, only 52 shy of fifth place and 83 shy of fourth place in Husky history. She also has the chance to move into first place in the nation for assists per set. She currently has 12.38 assists per set, trailing only Alisha Glass of Penn State who leads her by a mere .02 assists per set with 12.40.

Reach reporter Zach Ruby at sports@dailyuw.com.