By Kristen Davis
Arizona Daily Wildcat
November 10, 1997

Wildcats learn lesson as NCAA tournament nears

Nicholas Valenzuela Arizona Daily Wildcat Senior setter Michaela Ebben (1) sets up Erin Aldrich for a kill during Sunday's loss to No. 3 Stanford. UA struggled most of the day, putting up a paltry .195 hitting average during the entire match while losing in straight sets 15-5, 15-6, and 15-6.

The Arizona volleyball team learned another lesson as it continues to evolve into the type of NCAA tournament contender UA coach Dave Rubio foresees.

This time, however, they had to be swept by third-ranked Stanford to do so as they dropped Sunday's contest at McKale Center, 5-15, 6-15, 6-15.

"It's one thing going in and playing loose (against) a team at that level. Then it's another completely different thing psychologically when you expect to beat a team like that," Rubio said. "We put a lot of pressure (on ourselves) and came in tight. It was more a matter of us fighting ourselves instead of Stanford."

Since UA became one of four teams this season to take a game from the Cardinal when the two played in Palo Alto last month, the Wildcats had talked about how Stanford is not the unbeatable powerhouse as everyone perceived.

"This team didn't deal with (the pressures and expectations) well, but that's okay as long as we can learn from it and understand the dynamics that go along with a game like this," Rubio said.

"If this loss means we have a learning experience that carries into our tournament play, well then, I'll take this loss seven days a week."

Whether or not the players psyched themselves out before the game, once it began the 12th-ranked Arizona (17-5 overall, 9-5 in the Pacific 10 Conference) produced little to stop the Cardinal's all-around game.

"People put a lot of pressure on themselves and we didn't play like we normally do," senior Michelle Fanger said "I didn't think anything went particularly well tonight.

"We play much better when we're relaxed and we're confident when we just play our game."

Stanford, the defending national champions who clinched their fourth straight Pac-10 title with the win, finished the match with a .436 hitting percentage. The Wildcats hit .105 in the first game and .075 in the second. Arizona came back from a 1-7 deficit in the third game, in which the team hit .378, as they pulled to 5-9 on a Sara Johnson ace. But the effort came too late. The Cardinal (24-2, 15-0) forced a few UA unforced errors and produced an ace, solo block and a pair kills to dispose of the Wildcats.

"Stanford played great tonight," Rubio said. "They were prepared to play a good match because they knew they had to. They certainly made their point about how good they are."

"We're always concerned when we come down here because they are a great team," said Kristin Folkl, who led Stanford with 14 kills. "I wouldn't say they played poorly at all."

The Wildcats, who took just one hour and nine minutes to sweep Cal Friday night, have two weekends of competition remaining before the tournament begins next month.

"The biggest challenge for our team is to move to the next level and psychologically deal with the expectations that come along with that," Rubio said.

"The interesting thing is to get to the Final Four or round of eight you have to beat a team like Stanford and you've got to expect to beat them."

"The season is made up of good points and bad points," Fanger added. "We have to take something, good or bad, from matches and move on. We know we're going to come across a team like this in the postseason and we look forward to it."

How they compared

Arizona					Stanford

.195	team hitting percentage 	.436
4	players hitting above .350	7
6	players hitting below .250	1
42	assists				50
5	service aces			3
12	service errors			4
31	digs				49
3	total team blocks		6