The No. 3 UW volleyball team proved once again that it is a national championship contender, picking up two more victories over the Arizona schools this weekend to extend its unbeaten streak to 14.

After returning home for the first time in more than five weeks, the UW volleyball team swept both No. 18 Arizona and Arizona State. The Huskies have yet to drop a single set this season. The UW runs its record set win-streak to 42. The previous record was a 36-set streak, held by the 2005 national championship team.

The Dawgs were tested Friday against Arizona State but found a way to win, pulling out a 25-23, 25-16, 25-22 victory. Junior Kindra Carlson had 13 kills, while sophomore Bianca Rowland hit .600 with 10 kills and four aces.

The win against ASU didn’t come easily, as the Huskies held slim leads (22-21 and 24-23 in the first set) before they came through with a 25-23 win. The Sun Devils were up 17-13 at one point in the third set, but junior Becky Perry returned from an ankle injury with her team down and propelled the UW team to a 25-22 third set win and its 13th consecutive victory.

After saying Friday’s performance was “flat,” head coach Jim McLaughlin was impressed with Saturday’s 25-15, 25-13, 25-16 crushing of Arizona.

“I liked the intensity we came out with,” he said of Saturday’s match. “We came right out of the chute and started well. We put pressure on them, and we were good on both sides of the ball.”

Against Arizona, the UW hit a season-high .413 and held the Wildcats to .094. Senior Jill Collymore wowed the crowd again with her crushing serve and finished with 14 kills and four aces. McLaughlin was pleased with the efforts of senior Airial Salvo, who hit .562 and ended up with 10 kills and 10 digs.

“Salvo was big time,” McLaughlin said of the senior, who transferred to UW from Utah in 2007. “She blocked well, served well, dug well — she’s a very complete volleyball player. I expect that from her all the time.”

Senior Tamari Miyashiro, who was named the Pac-10 Player of the Week for Sept. 22-28, placed her name in the record books again, passing UCLA’s Chrissie Zartman for third place in career digs. Miyashiro had 20 digs Friday and moved up in the rankings with 15 more digs Saturday.

It was the first time since Aug. 29 that the UW played in front of their home fans. The home crowd’s presence proved beneficial for the Huskies.

“We think we have the best environment in the country,” McLaughlin said. “We have intelligent fans, and we have a responsibility to play well when we’re in front of them.”

With two more Pac-10 victories, confidence is sky high for the Huskies. But Collymore pointed out that confidence doesn’t come from the specific opponents that the Huskies defeat.

“Every time you [win], you could say it’s a boost in confidence,” said Collymore, an outside hitter. “But our confidence comes from knowing that we can execute what we want to do and not so much the people we beat.”

The players figure to be tested next weekend as they pack their bags again and travel to the Bay Area for matchups against two tough Pac-10 opponents, Cal and Stanford.

“We enjoy the trip, and we get fired up for it,” McLaughlin said. “It will be an ultimate challenge, but these kids like that.”

Reach reporter Taylor Soper at sports@dailyuw.com.