With just two weeks left in the regular season, many of the Arizona's top volleyball teams are putting the pressure of playing meaningful games aside for a weekend.

The annual Nike Tournament of Champions is a nice reprieve from the regular season games that have a direct result on the seeding for the playoffs.

Instead of worrying about were the decimal point will land after each win or loss, this weekend is all about playing at a high level against some unfamiliar opposition.

"I think it's great timing to get ready for postseason; playing tough teams is hard but always good for growth," Mountain Pointe (Phoenix) second-year coach Karen Gray said. "It's also nice to play teams we aren't familiar with — one, because the girls don't have any preconceptions of those teams or players and two, it gives us a different look at what we are good at and what we need to work on."

The matches are played at The KROC Center in Phoenix and Court One in Tempe.

It's a 72-team tournament with each team guaranteed six games with three pool games on Friday and three bracketed matches on Saturday.

About 30 teams, including Bishop's (La Jolla, Calif.), which is No. 97 in the MaxPreps national computer rankings along with the top-ranked teams from Nevada (Coronado in Henderson) and Alaska (South Anchorage), come from out of state as Illinois, Utah, Colorado, Oregon and Washington are also represented.

"I also think the timing is good for the Nike because it's that time of year when the girls have spent a lot of time together and it's fun for them to be doing something different besides that daily grind of section play," Gray added.

Arizona has three teams among the top 30 in the MaxPreps national computer rankings.

Xavier College Prep (Phoenix) is ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 13 nationally by MaxPreps with Desert Vista (Phoenix) right behind at No. 2 and No. 15. Hamilton (Chandler) comes in at No. 28 nationally.

Desert Vista is in the same pool as Bishop's, while Hamilton and Coronado will meet in pool play.

It should make for some quality matches the next two days that will only help prepare everyone for the playoffs in November.

"It's an opportunity for some intense games," Thunder coach Molly West said. "That's why I like the Nike tournament for timing. The downside is that the tourney only has six matches and it's difficult to have a true winner without playing it out. Hopefully the competition is good, as it is great timing to get a lot of playing time."

Jason P. Skoda, a former Arizona Republic and current Ahwatukee Foothill News staff writer, is a 19-year sports writing veteran. Contact him at jskoda1024@aol.com or 480-272-2449.