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DaLee 'surprised' about Pac-10 honor

Junior middle blocker Marisa DaLee was named Pacific 10 Conference player of the week after leading the Wildcats past the 18th-ranked San Diego Torreros in the final game of the Embassy Suites Wildcat Classic.

"Everything Marisa does is a product of her hard work," head coach David Rubio said. "She's not nearly as good as she could be."

For DaLee, who was the only UA player represented on the All-Wildcat Classic team, the award came as a surprise.

"I was happy, surprised, excited, every word you can think of," DaLee said. "To win player of the week...wow!"

After cruising past Kent State and Santa Clara last Friday, the team was stunned by upstart Sacramento State on Saturday morning.

The Wildcats would need to defeat San Diego on Saturday night or risk dropping out of the top-20.

That's when DaLee stepped in as the Wildcats rebounded to take the Torreros 15-11, 15-9 and 15-12. DaLee recorded 13 kills for a team high .391 kill percentage.

"She's been working since last spring to make herself a better volleyball player," Rubio said. "She knows that she has the talent to be an All-American. If she works hard, the team will go places."

Rubio stressed DaLee's improvement since last season.

"She could be one of the best I ever coached," Rubio said. "She's working hard now. Early on in her career, she wasn't as disciplined as I would've liked her to be."

With the graduation of Keisha Johnson Demps, the middle blocker position was DaLee's for good this season and so far she is running with it.

"I'm looking forward to another good year. We have a great team," DaLee said.

This is DaLee's second career player of the week honor, the last one coming Nov. 2, 1998.

This is the 11th time a Wildcat has been named player of the week.