For the ASU volleyball team, the pressure is on this week in the chase for an NCAA tournament bid.
The Sun Devils (11-13, 3-10) host the Pac-10's last-place team Oregon State Thursday and then face No. 24 Oregon Friday.
They need four wins in their final five matches to be eligible, but with a match at No. 4 Washington next week, coach Brad Saindon said it is critical they win both this week.
"This is the biggest week of the year for us now," he said. "We have no room for a bad game or any sloppy play. We've got to be as good as we can be, and it comes down to this week whether we prove that we're an NCAA tournament team or not."
In addition to the postseason implications for the Sun Devils, this could also be a record-breaking week for ASU junior libero Sydney Donahue.
The Pac-10 leader with 561 digs this season, Donahue needs just 33 more to reach Christy Nore's school record of 1,597 career digs.
"It's an unbelievable accomplishment," Saindon said. "I'm proud of her and excited for her, and she just continues to get better and better."
Oregon (17-5, 7-5) is one of the biggest surprises in both the Pac-10 and the nation this season.
The Ducks' 17 overall wins are their most in a single season since they won 21 matches in 1989, and their seven conference wins this year are more than they had in the previous seven seasons combined.
They currently lead the conference with a .129 opponent hitting percentage, and ASU hit just .084 and made 38 attack errors in a 3-1 loss to them Oct. 12.
"That was the single feature of that match," Saindon said of the errors. "You can't beat anybody like that. But we're playing well and practicing well. I think it's going to be a good match, but I think we're going to win it."
Oregon State (3-18, 0-12) is last in the Pac-10 in opponent hitting percentage, assists, kills, blocks and service aces.
ASU swept the Beavers 3-0 Oct. 13, but Saindon said his team cannot afford to look past them this week.
-MATT STOREY
Women's basketball
The ASU women's basketball team won't be handed any easy wins when their season begins this weekend.
The No. 12 Sun Devils season tips off on Friday against Nebraska, then continues on Sunday when the team will host No. 20 New Mexico as part of the Veterans Day Classic Tournament.
The expectations for ASU are at an all-time high at the beginning of its campaign, but early-season wins against Nebraska and UNM would justify those hopes.
The Sun Devils, who were undefeated at home last season, play their first five games of the 2006-07 season at Wells Fargo Arena, including this weekend's tournament.
The season opener against Nebraska will be a tough test for an ASU team that had no difficulties in its pre season exhibition games.
It will also be an opportunity for some of the Sun Devils' younger players to gain the experience that comes from playing elite college programs.
This is a prospect that excites freshman guard Dymond Simon, who says height and speed are the biggest obstacles separating high school and collegiate basketball.
"You've got to be strong out here with these big girls," Simon said. "They're not just going to let you go to the basket free-for-all. You've got to be tough out here and that's what I've been concentrating on."
Though ASU will be favored to win its opener against the Huskers, 11th year coach Charli Turner Thorne expects the game to be much more than a walk-through.
"They are a very good team," Turner Thorne said. "They scored 122 points in their last exhibition game. [We've] got to consistently take things away and not put them on the free-throw line."
The Sun Devils' run-and-gun offense will face a tighter defense then they played in the exhibition games during which they scored an average of 83 points.
"They're going to be really stingy on their defense," Turner Thorne said. "They play containment defense, so we're going to be open from the perimeter but they're really going to try to clog up the key."
This may force the backcourt to slow the game down and senior forward Emily Westerberg to step out to a more perimeter position.
Sophomore center Kirsten Thompson is expected to make her first appearance of the season this Friday.
Thompson missed the team's preseason games but Turner Thorne expects her to come in off the bench this weekend.
-MATT WAGGONER
Cross Country
The ASU harriers have their biggest challenge ahead of them this weekend.
This Saturday in Portland, Ore., the ASU men's and women's cross country teams will take on the best in the West at the 2006 NCAA West Region Championships.
At the Pac-10 Championships on Oct. 28th, ASU cross country coach Louie Quintana said that the two teams executed a very patient plan.
The No. 8 ASU women finished second overall behind No. 1 Stanford while the men improved to finish one place better than last year in fourth overall.
"We have good momentum going into the regional meet, we just again have to execute and get out there," Quintana said.
