SEATTLE - Washington will be spending more time than ever in the sand this winter and spring, as the Husky Beach Volleyball slate has expanded again to what is considered a "full" schedule for the 2018 season. The Dawgs will be starting play a full month earlier than last season, going from an 18-match schedule in 2017 to a minimum of 26 matches with potentially several more this season. Hometown fans will also get to see some of the Pac-12 and NCAA's best college beach squads as UW will host a Pac-12 North Tournament at Alki Beach in mid-April, including two-time defending NCAA Champion USC.

Heading into its fifth season, Washington has begun to make some headway in the sand. Each of the past two years, UW has been seeded seventh heading into the Pac-12 Championships, partly due to their shorter season and fewer number of competitions. But in 2016 the Huskies wound up fourth in the Pac-12, and last year the Huskies upset three higher-seeded teams to finish third-place, behind NCAA Champion USC and another NCAA tourney qualifier in UCLA.

This year UW will be much more battle-tested by the time the conference tournament arrives. UW will have faced four of the eight teams that made the 2017 NCAA tournament in USC, UCLA, Long Beach State, and Hawaii.

"This is the next progression in beach volleyball at Washington," said third-year Head Coach Jonathan Winder. "The student-athletes have continued to ask for more time in the sand and more matches to prepare for the Pac-12 Championships. We have had success the past two years at the Pac-12 Championships as our team became acclimated to the different weather conditions, sand, and more familiar with the beach game. So we decided this season to start training earlier, play more matches, experience more weather conditions, and share what elite college beach volleyball looks like with the Washington community."

This season, Washington will face all eight Pac-12 opponents at least once prior to the Pac-12 Championships, starting with a season-opening dual with Arizona on Mar. 2 in Tucson, Ariz. Washington will spend the first several weeks on the road in Arizona and California before playing at home for the first time on Mar. 29 with a dual against Boise State at UW's beach courts on campus.

After a road trip to Hawaii, Washington will play host to the Pac-12 North Tournament at Alki Beach in West Seattle where California, USC, Oregon, and Stanford will all be in town over Apr. 14-15.

"It is the first full schedule we have played in our history in both number of matches and competition level. We are thrilled to be able to host two tournaments this year, with one on campus and one at the iconic Alki Beach, against some great teams including the back to back NCAA Champion USC. We are excited to embark on this season and raise the standard of beach volleyball in the Pacific Northwest," says Winder.

Stanford will play host to the third annual Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Championships from Apr. 26-28.