After splitting matches against Stanford and Cal, the UW has crept up a spot in the national rankings to No. 5. The team (17-4, 8-3 Pac-10) currently trails Stanford by two matches for the top spot in the Pac-10.

The Huskies are in for another tough weekend though as two more nationally ranked teams — No. 10 USC and No. 9 UCLA — visit Hec Edmundson Pavilion.

“Both teams are very good ... both teams are well coached,” volleyball coach Jim McLaughlin said. “It will be a challenge for us. But we’ve been playing well and we’ve been training well. As long as we take care of that we’ll be OK.”

When the Huskies last faced the Trojans, they ended USC’s 32-match home winning streak with a five-set road victory. USC is no doubt looking to avenge that loss to the Huskies. USC will come into Hec Ed Friday riding a three game winning streak while hitting .235 as a team this season.

On Sunday, the Huskies will have to answer another major challenge, the No. 9 UCLA Bruins. When the Huskies last played the Bruins, the Dawgs were able to scrape together a nail biter of a five set victory. This time, the odds are in the Dawgs’ favor as the Huskies will play at home where they have won the last five against UCLA.

The 15-7 Bruins have a strong defense, leading the Pac-10 in digs with 15.19 per set, and are third in the conference in blocks per set with 2.58.

The Huskies are no slouchers themselves. Junior Jill Collymore leads the Pac-10 in aces per game with .48, sophomore setter Jenna Hagglund leads the conference and is second in the nation in assists with 12.09 per set, junior libero Tamari Miyashiro is second in the Pac-10 in digs per set with 4.89 and senior Jessica Swarbrick’s 1.19 block’s per set is good for 44th in the nation.

“I like where we’re at,” McLaughlin said, “I like us emotionally. I like us mentally. I like us physically.”

Hagglund and Collymore were also both recently named to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VIII First Team for excellence in the classroom.

Reach reporter Zach Ruby at sports@dailyuw.com.