Coming off of a weekend in which it was swept by the Washington schools on the road, the ASU volleyball team is showing a resolve that coach Jason Watson said he hadn’t seen before from this team.

After seeing a 2-1 lead against Washington State slip away last weekend, the team has come back as focused as ever.

“For the first time in my career here, in the locker room after, there was this resolve that it shouldn’t have gone the way it did and we weren’t happy and that we wanted to get back in the gym and get better,” Watson said. “We knew after that match that we needed to get better, and I think that’s a healthy emotion … I think we’ve used it this week.”

The Sun Devils (11-5, 1-3 Pac-10) are hoping that resolve will carry over into this weekend as they take on No. 11 Oregon on Friday night and Oregon State on Saturday night at Wells Fargo Arena.

Being back at home helps ASU finish games, something the team has struggled with, junior libero Sarah Johnson said.

“Coming back from losing to UW and WSU, we’ve really got focus on finishing the game,” Johnson said. “When we’re up or tied 2-2 going into the fifth game, we have to learn how to finish it, and I think being at home is going to be a really good advantage because we need to get these two wins.”

Watson has emphasized the need to win as many home matches as possible.

“I see [both games] as crucial — we’re at home,” Watson said. “Home wins are important, because road wins are tough to come by in the conference, as we experienced last weekend. I think any time you’re at home, those are opportunities that you’ve got to make the most of. Certainly, Oregon and Oregon State pose challenges, but you’ve got to take care of your home court.”

Oregon (11-2, 1-2 Pac-10) is led by senior middle blocker Neticia Enesi, who was a second-team All-American last year. This season, Enesi is second in the conference in hitting percentage at .475 and sixth in the conference in blocks per set.

The Ducks are also a great serving team, with three players in the top six in the conference in service aces per set.

“Oregon is really quite experienced, they’ve got a balanced team [and] I think they’ve been in a lot of battles,” Watson said. “Offensively, they’re going to give us some challenges, because they are a little quick and they’re a little diverse — their athletes do a lot of things.”

OSU (10-5, 1-2 Pac-10) is the only team in the Pac-10 other than ASU that isn’t ranked in the national Top 25, but it won’t be an easy victory for the Sun Devils by any means. The Beavers have defeated No. 8 Michigan, No. 11 UO and No. 18 Michigan State so far this season and are 7-2 on the road.

The Beavers are led by one of the top players in the country in senior outside hitter Rachel Rourke.

Rourke, an All-American last year, stands 6 feet 5 inches and is third in the conference in kills per set at 4.39. The Beaver offense goes through Rourke, Watson said.

“Oregon State is a fairly physical team [and] they have probably one of the most physically imposing outside hitters in the conference in Rourke,” Watson said. “She’s going to get a lot of swings, and you’ve got to try to stop her. They don’t hide that fact, and so we’ve got to game plan for that.”

Reach the reporter at kyle.glaser@asu.edu.