By
Kamy Shaygan
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Burkholder leads the No. 13 Wildcats
How much can one person do?
If you're Dana Burkholder, you can do a whole lot.
Burkholder, the starting junior setter for the No. 13 Arizona women's volleyball team, was named the Pacific-10 Conference Volleyball Player of the Week following a dominant performance in this past weekend's Starwoods Plaza Wildcat Classic.
In the four-team tournament, the Bakersfield, Calif. native posted an average of 14 assists per game, along with 22 kills and an attacking percentage of .626.
"It's an honor," Burkholder said. "More importantly, it's a reflection of our team and how much we have improved and the ability of our team to get the ball in my hands to make that big of a difference."
Burkholder's outstanding performance wasn't lost on her teammates.
"I thought she did amazingly well," UA sophomore outside hitter Lisa Rutledge said. "She did really, really great. I think she kept our team going when we were getting down, and she really helped us out."
Burkholder, along with senior middle blocker Marisa DaLee, have been instrumental in providing leadership throughout the young season.
"They will get everybody fired up," Arizona sophomore middle blocker Stefani Saragosa said. "Dana holds a big responsibility on the court. She is always leading us in practice."
Burkholder's most impressive match of the weekend was against Santa Clara in the tournament's championship match.
She notched a career high 13 kills along with 51 assists as the Wildcats defeated the Broncos 15-1, 15-12, 17-15.
Although it is not typical of a setter to have that many kills in a match, Burkholder's ability to make the kill allows UA to keep defenses on its heels with her dump-shot.
"If I'm successful, I am going to continue to do that. I am obviously going to establish myself as an attacker," Burkholder said. "The plan of attack will be similar."
Despite being a First-Team All-Pac-10 performer last season, Burkholder has made significant improvement in her junior year.
"Dana in my mind from last year to this year is a completely different setter," Rubio said. "She has always looked spectacular and done amazing things with the ball, but the biggest thing with Dana in the last 12 months is her ability to make better decisions and her ability to consistently give attackers swings."
Those two elements, according to Rubio, are the main differences in Burkholder's style of play from the previous season.
"She is so much better in those two areas, and I think that is what has really elevated her play," Rubio said. "Now she is being a lot more consistent about who she is setting the ball to, and I think that has really made a big difference in our team."
