The logjam at the top of the Western Conference volleyball standings is about to be blown up.

Four teams, including Oak Harbor, are unbeaten — none of the other 11 schools has fewer than three losses.

Stanwood is 8-0; Oak Harbor, Arlington and Snohomish are a half-match back at 7-0.

Arlington is ranked third, Snohomish fifth, Stanwood sixth and Oak Harbor ninth in the latest Maxpreps 3A Washington state poll.

Mount Spokane of Mead is No. 1, followed by Ferndale, which will compete in the same district tournament as the Wesco schools.

Thursday, Oct. 4, the unbeaten Wesco teams start head-to-head competition. Stanwood visits Oak Harbor at 7 p.m. and Snohomish goes to Arlington.

The Wildcats are the surprise team of the unbeaten bunch. While the other three have finished no lower than tied for second the past two seasons, Oak Harbor placed in the middle of the pack.

Oak Harbor and Stanwood have a healthy rivalry, according to Wildcat coach Kerri Molitor.

This stems from familiarity. Many of the players compete together on the same club teams and go to the same camps. Molitor and Spartan coach Megan Amundson both returned to their alma maters to coach and both are Western Washington University graduates.

“Stanwood has a great team, great kids and a great coach,” Molitor said, noting the two teams are also similar in approach and style.

Amundson agrees: “I have known Kerri for a long time and always love coaching across the net from her. Our girls tend to know each other from the club world, so they already have even more of a stake in the match. We know it is going to be a great and scrappy match every year. Always a fun one to look forward to.”

The Spartans are the defending Wesco champions and own a 21-match win streak in conference play. Five of their seven wins this season were shutouts, and they have lost only two sets.

Stanwood’s opponents this year have a combined 10-31 record. Oak Harbor’s are 11-24.

Amundson said her team’s strength is its experience —— the 12-person varsity roster includes 10 seniors and two juniors. Oak Harbor has only four seniors and starts two freshmen and a sophomore.

“These girls have played a lot of volleyball together over the years,” Amundson said. “It is great to see them continuing to work as a team. We know Thursday will be a battle. Oak is full of talent, and we will need to stay disciplined throughout that match.”

Devon Martinka leads the Stanwood attack. The four-year letter winner helped guide Stanwood to the state tournament the past two seasons and is being courted by Division I colleges.

The 6-foot, 2-inch senior holds the Stanwood single-match kill record at 28 and plays on the national level with her club team, the Seattle Juniors.

Anchoring the Spartans’ defense, according to Molitor, is an outstanding libero, Veaya Carter.

Oak Harbor senior captain Cami Bristow is looking forward to the match and said there is extra motivation to play well against club teammates.

She said the strength of the Wildcats is their never-give-up attitude: “When we are down, we come back and win.”

Bristow said the supportive home crowds give the team a boost and the team feeds off the energy.

“It is really cool, especially when they do their cheers,” she said.

Bristow added her classmates are taking notice of the team’s success.

“Kids are coming up to me and asking when our next match is,” she said. “They are saying, ‘I want to come.’ In the past, we would have to ask kids to come to the games.”

The Wildcats will get some reinforcements for the match. Three players – Maekaila Divinagracia, Jaslin Webster and Jasmine Ford – have missed the past few weeks with injuries. Divinagracia will return for the big match; Webster might.

Molitor said her club’s strong play can be attributed to its supportive nature and willingness to share the glory.

“We have our ups and downs, but the kids are able to shake off adversity – they just support each other,” she said. “We have great leadership; the kids lead by example.”

The Wildcats will have success Thursday if they can avoid unforced errors and take Stanwood out of its system, Molitor said.

“My guess is that Megan is telling her team the same thing.”

Familiar faces, familiar foe, similar styles, similar respect.

“It’s going to be fun,” Molitor said, “and it’s going to be a battle.”

Senior captain Cami Bristow will lead Oak Harbor in Thursday’s showdown with Stanwood. (Photo by John Fisken)