CHRIS CODUTO/Arizona Daily Wildcat Senior setter Kelly Griffin-Halfaker and the Wildcats take on No. 11 Washington tomorrow in McKale Center.

Forget about the fact that the UA volleyball team is ranked No. 25 and Washington is ranked No. 11 - the most exciting part about tomorrow's match may be the setting.

The Huskies (18-7, 9-7 Pacific 10 Conference) boast the Conference of Champions' leader in assists, while the Wildcats (14-13, 8-8) counter with freshman setter Stephanie Butkus, who is third in the Pac-10 in assists.

Fellow rookie UW setter Courtney Thompson is fourth nationally with 14.23 assists per game. She is on pace to set the school record.

The Huskies are second in the conference in assists per game with 16.37, while Arizona is fifth with 14.52.

Thompson needs 30 more assists to move into third on Washington's all-time assist list for a single season. Thompson also played club for the KJ Volleyball Club, with setter Amy Dyck, who signed a letter-of-intent to play next year at Arizona.

Earlier in the season, Butkus was benched in favor of fifth-year senior Kelly Halfaker, but bounced back to reclaim the starting job.

"I think she's made incredible, incredible improvement," said sophomore middle blocker Bre Ladd. "Still, as the season goes on it's a constant learning process, learning the system."

"I think she's a different setter than when she got here, not even just a setter, (but) an all-around player. She's making defensive plays and blocking plays she didn't make in the beginning of the year because she's a freshman. I think she's made incredible improvements," Ladd added.

If the match were in a classroom, the UA-UW match would be a good contest as well. Thompson was the valedictorian and student body president at Kentlake High School. Butkus graduated tenth in her class at Queen of Peace High School in Bridgeview, Ill., with a 4.109 GPA.

Washington coach hopes for 50th win against UA

Washington head coach Jim McLaughlin is expected to reach a milestone in the desert. The UA just hopes it will be in Tempe, not Tucson.

McLaughlin, 49-34 at UW, is one win away from the half-century mark. Last year's Pac-10 Coach of the Year is in his third year in Seattle. He coached previously at Kansas State and at Southern California as the men's coach, where he won a title in 1990 and finished second in 1991.

Race for Pac-10 heats up

More than postseason hopes will be riding on the Pac-10's final weekend of matches, specifically in the battle of Cats and Dawgs.

With a win, the Wildcats can move into a tie with the Huskies for fifth with one match to go in the league for both teams. Stanford, half a game ahead of third-place UCLA, which visits No. 1 USC next, should finish second with the Oregon schools coming to town.

California is a game and a half behind the Bruins, while Oregon State (in seventh) and Oregon (last) can't improve their standing. The Washington State-Arizona State match could very well decide eighth, as both squads have 4-12 conference records.

Before the season, the conference coaches picked USC, which wrapped up its second title in a row last week, to win the league. Stanford was picked to place second, while Arizona and UCLA tied for third. Cal, Washington, ASU, Wazzu, OSU and Oregon rounded out the preseason predictions.

20 wins now within reach

Thanks to adding a match with Northern Arizona, the Wildcats now have an easier road to their eighth straight 20-win season - a streak thought to be finished for certain this year.

With four matches to go, Arizona needs to win out and make it to its fifth straight Sweet 16 to notch 20 victories for the year.

Ducks still winless in Pac

Oregon (3-22, 0-16) may have blown its chance to win a conference match. After being swept by Arizona, the Ducks fell in five to the Sun Devils at home.

Oregon travels to the Bay Area to face No. 7 Stanford and the No. 9 Golden Bears this weekend in its final attempts to avoid a winless Pac-10 season.

On the other side of the spectrum is USC, which needs one win this weekend to become the eighth-ever undefeated team in the conference.