Arizona Volleyball Match Notes
Wildcats head to the Northwest, hope to quell two-match losing streak.
Oct. 1, 2002
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Trip To Tempe Quick Hits: Arizona's loss to Arizona State snapped a five-match winning streak over the Sun Devils ... The loss was the first for the Wildcats in Tempe since 1996 ... Friday's loss was the fourth match this season that Arizona failed to hit over .200 as a team. The Wildcats are 1-3 this year when hitting below .200 ... The 40 points scored in the third game loss was the most for an Arizona team since rally scoring has been implemented ... Freshman Kim Glass led the Wildcats in kills for the fourth straight match and for the eighth time overall this season ... Senior Laurie Gardner tallied a double-double with 42 assists and 10 digs in the loss ... Classmate Lisa Rutledge struggled for the first time this season, managing just eight kills while committing seven errors ... Freshman Bre Ladd and senior Shannon Torregrosa accounted for 19 kills, six block assists and a solo block in the middle.
Polling Place: Arizona's loss to Arizona State in its lone match last week dropped the Wildcats five spots in this week's AVCA poll from 12th to 17th. Volleyball Magazine dropped Arizona two spots from 14th to 16th. Washington State, Arizona's next opponent fell from 18th to 19th.
A Tale of Two Teams: Its not a shock that Arizona's stats are better in its wins vs. its loses, but a couple of interesting comparisons can be found when looking at the two. In UA's wins the Wildcats are decidedly out-killing their opponents by a 90 kill margin. However, when they lose Arizona only has a 26 kill deficit. Oddly, Arizona averages more kills per game when it loses than when it wins. Arizona is also hitting 74 points higher in its victories, but are allowing opponents to hit 134 points higher in loses. The Wildcat block is decidedly different in the wins and losses. The Wildcats are out-blocking their opponents by nearly two per game in wins, but are getting out-blocked in loses. UA averages about a block and a half less in a loss.
In Arizona's Six Wins
Team K KPG Pct. Asst. APG SA SE RE D DPG TB BPG
Arizona 340 14.19 .270 298 14.19 39 80 24 285 13.57 73 3.48
Opponents 250 11.90 .141 224 10.67 24 75 39 258 12.29 32.5 1.55
In Arizona's Five Losses
Team K KPG Pct. Asst. APG SA SE RE D DPG TB BPG
Arizona 231 14.44 .196 208 13.00 21 58 40 210 13.12 31 1.94
Opponents 257 16.06 .275 228 14.25 40 52 21 218 13.62 44.5 2.78
A Tough Stretch: Head coach David Rubio knows from firsthand experience how tough the Pac-10 is. In an effort to prepare the 2002 team for conference play and the NCAA postseason, he put together a very competitive schedule. Beginning on Sept. 7, Arizona will face/have faced top 25 teams at least once in five of six weekends. The Wildcats have already taken on No. 1 USC, No. 2 Nebraska, No. 11 UCLA, No. 14 Pepperdine and No. 21 Pacific in five of their last seven matches and, using this week's AVCA poll, will face No. 19 Washington State and No. 4 Stanford in two of their next four matches.
Looking Ahead: Arizona travels to the Pacific Northwest to take on No. 19 Washington State and Washington this week. Arizona swept the season series from both teams last year and holds an eight-match winning streak over the Cougars and a nine-match streak over the Huskies.
Upcoming Opponents
Washington State: The Cougars (11-2, 2-2 Pac-10) enter the match with Arizona on the heals of a two-match losing streak ... WSU was dealt its initial two losses of the season last weekend in Los Angeles by No. 1 USC and No. 17 UCLA ... The Cougars were swept by USC and fell in five games in a battle with the Bruins ... WSU fields a veteran team that includes six starters and nine letterwinners from last season's NCAA team that went 17-12 ... Led by Adrian Hankoff, the Cougars have four seniors on the roster that are averaging 2.5 kpg this season ... Head coach Cindy Fredrick is in her 14th season in Pullman and has accumulated a 256-166 record through 13 matches this season ... Arizona and Washington State have played 32 all-time matches with the Wildcats holding a 23-9 advantage ... Arizona has not lost in Bohler Gym since 1997.
Arizona-Washington State 2002 Stats
Team KPG Pct. APG SAPG DPG BPG
Arizona 15.43 .238 13.68 1.62 13.38 2.81
Washington St. 17.05 .269 14.76 1.83 16.93 2.20
Washington: Washington enters play this week with a two-match losing streak of its own ... The Huskies were 3-0 victims to both No.1 USC and No. 17 UCLA in L.A. last weekend ... Despite the two match setback, head coach Jim McLaughlin has turned things around in Seattle ... UW needs just one more win this season to match its 2001 season total ... The Huskies' three losses have all come at the hands of top 25 teams ... UW returns three starters and nine letter winners from last season's 11-16 team ... On a roster that features 13 underclassmen, UW is led by senior Paige Benjamin's impressive 5.50 kpg average. She is also hitting an amazing .396 this season as well ... Washington and Arizona have played 36 times prior to this weekend with Arizona holding a 23-13 lead ... Arizona has not lost in Seattle in five straight seasons.
Arizona-Washington 2002 Stats
Team KPG Pct. APG SAPG DPG BPG
Arizona 15.43 .238 13.68 1.62 13.38 2.81
Washington 16.23 .316 14.65 2.47 13.25 2.71
Washing Up: Senior Lisa Rutledge has posted impressive numbers against the Pac-10 members in Washington. In six career matches against the Cougars she has racked up 70 kills on .340 hitting and 44 digs. Against Washington the outside hitter has nailed 96 career kills in 23 games for a 4.17 kpg average and has tallied 67 digs.
Moving On Up: Senior Lisa Rutledge's eight kills in Arizona's loss to Arizona State last weekend pushed her career total to 1,189. She moved past associate head coach Charita Johnson into sixth on the Arizona career list earlier this season and has her sights set on a top three finish for her career.
1. Barb Bell 1993-96 1,859
2. Terry Lauchner 1987-90 1,636
3. Melissa Ferris 1991-94 1,273
4. Marisa DaLee 1997-99 1,243
5. Melissa McLinden 1982-85 1,213
6. Lisa Rutledge 1999-Present 1,189
7. Charita Johnson 1991-94 1,134
Sudden Impact: Not since Barb Bell first stepped on the floor for Arizona in 1993 has a freshman outside hitter made as big an impact for the Wildcats as Kim Glass has this season. Glass has led or shared the team lead in kills in six of Arizona's 10 matches this season. She leads the Wildcats in kills, kills per game, aces, digs and points. Through 11 matches and 37 games, she has tallied 164 kills on 376 attempts with just 51 errors for an impressive .301 hitting percentage. Looking back to Bell's first 11 matches, it is found that Glass is putting up similar numbers that earned Bell 1993 Volleyball Magazine Freshman All-America honors. Bell posted 152 kills on 374 swings with 62 errors for a .241 hitting percentage in her first 11 matches. Bell holds the school record for kills by a freshman with 417. Glass needs just one more this season to move into the top 10 on the freshman list.
Bell/Glass Comparison (Through 11 Matches)
Player MP G K E Att. % KPG Digs
Barb Bell (1993) 11 42 152 62 374 .241 3.62 38
Kim Glass (2002) 11 37 164 51 376 .301 4.43 100
Moving to the Middle: With the injury to and departure of classmate Stefani Saragosa, senior Shannon Torregrosa has volunteered her services as Arizona's second middle blocker. Rotating with freshman Bre Ladd, Torregrosa is second on the team with 33 total blocks after moving in from her normal outside spot. She averages just under a block per game (0.97), a number that will certainly go up with more time in her new position.
Chipping In: Led by freshman Kim Glass' 4.37 kpg , five different Wildcats who have played in every match this season are averaging at least one kill per game. The arsenal of attackers makes the Wildcats a difficult team to defend at the net. If a team opts to take away Glass, senior Lisa Rutledge will come at you with her 3.68 kpg average, followed by classmate Shannon Torregrosa's 2.55 kpg effort, and so on.
A Change In Time: For the third straight season, and fourth time overall, Arizona will play a match prior to basketball's Midnight Madness practice. In doing so, the Wildcats and No. 4 Stanford will square off at 8 pm on Oct. 11 instead of the previously scheduled time of 7 pm. The three previous volleyball matches held in conjunction with Midnight Madness have brought in crowds of 4,927 (1998), a Pac-10 volleyball record 7,298 (2000) and 3,711 (2001) fans. Attendance: Through five home contests this year, the Wildcats are averaging 1,900 fans per match. The mark represents the highest average attendance in the Pac-10 this season and is ranked ninth nationally among all Division I schools.
We're #1: The 2002 freshman class at Arizona is easily the most highly regarded incoming crop of athletes in the program's 31-year history. Ranked the top recruiting class in the nation by Volleyball Magazine, all four players in the class are in the publication's Fab 50 for 2002, including the top two and three of the top six freshmen players in the country. The class is composed of Jennifer Abernathy and Meghan Cumpston from California, Kim Glass from Pennsylvania, and Bre Ladd who opted to stay in Southern Arizona after attending Canyon Del Oro High School.
Arizona and Volleyball Magazine's 2002 Fab 50
1. Bre Ladd
2. Kim Glass
6. Jennifer Abernathy
34. Meghan Cumpston
Freshman and Senior Similarities: The 2002 freshmen class is contributing heavily towards Arizona's efforts this season. Four of the newcomers (including redshirt Angie Ayers) have started at least one match this season. Freshmen contributions have not been so prevalent in the Arizona lineup since this season's senior class came to Arizona. Lisa Rutledge, Rachel Williams and Shannon Torregrosa all started and played right away as freshmen for Coach Rubio in 1999. In the last two years combined only Kelli Mulvany broke into the starting lineup as a freshman.
Getting 200: With UA's 3-0 win over New Mexico on Sept. 6, head coach David Rubio became the fastest coach in Arizona volleyball history to record his 200th win for the Wildcats. The win over the Lobos came in Rubio's 298th match on the Wildcat bench. Rosie Wegrich, who is UA's all-time leader in coaching victories with 258, picked up her 200th Arizona victory in her 341st match as head coach. Ironically, Coach Wegrich also got her milestone win against New Mexico in 1988.
Saragosa's Out: Citing a three-year string of injuries, senior Stefani Saragosa has ended her playing career at Arizona. An instrumental player in helping to raise Arizona to an elite level, she was a member of the three Sweet Sixteen teams, two Elite Eight squads and last season's Final Four club. She finished her career second on Arizona's hitting percentage list and tied for sixth in block assists. Saragosa's Career Numbers
Milestones To Watch For: Lisa Rutledge needs 18 starts this season to become the all-time school leader in matches started ... Although Barb Bell's school record of 1,859 career kills appears quite safe, a top three finish for Rutledge is not out of the question. Already sixth on the kills list, the senior outside hitter needs just 85 more to move into third all-time.
Pac-10 Coaches Preseason Poll: The Pac-10 coaches placed Arizona third in their annual preseason poll. The Wildcats garnered 73 votes in the poll, trailing only defending Pac-10 Champion Stanford and USC. The coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own team, have correctly named the conference champion eight times in 13 tries. The full poll can be found on page 9 of the notes.
Head Coach David Rubio: Entering his 11th season as the top man at Arizona, Rubio has elevated the Wildcat volleyball program to one of the elite in all of Division I. Taking a team that did not win a conference match the season prior to his arrival, he has built a 203-102 record (.668) in 10-plus years. He has led the Wildcats to eight NCAA Tournament berths, including the last six straight, 15 tournament victories, five Sweet Sixteens ('93, '94, '99, 2000, '01), two Elite Eights (2000, '01) and Arizona's first-ever Final Four (2001). His efforts last season earned him Volleyball Magazine National Coach-of-the-Year honors.
The Libero: The NCAA has instituted a major rule change for the 2002 volleyball season. The position of libero has been added into play this year and will certainly have an impact on the game. The new position is defined as: a back-row player, intended to be used as a ball-control specialist. The libero is allowed to replace any player in the back row without counting as a substitution. The is no limit to the number of libero replacements a team is allowed. However, there are restrictions on what the libero can and cannot do on the floor:
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#17 wildcat volleyball heading to northwest face washington
