By
Kamy Shaygan
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Rubio confident about approaching volleyball season
With his team ranked in the top-10 in the preseason polls and expectations for the UA volleyball team at an all-time high, head coach David Rubio sat down with the Arizona Daily Wildcat and gave his impressions on the upcoming season.
Wildcat: Which opponents will give the team their toughest competition?
Rubio: I think this year's schedule is equally as difficult as last years. If you look at the preseason poll, there are three teams in our conference that are ahead of us. UCLA, USC and Stanford are our big matches. The schedule is tough and that is how we like it.
W: What are the team's expectations for the upcoming season?
R: This team is very talented. I feel like every piece is there for us to take us up to the next level. Based on that, our expectations are very high.
W: This is the first time Arizona has been ranked in the top-10 entering a season. Do you feel that there is any added pressure?
R: I don't feel like it does. This may sound self-serving, but I think we are equally as good as the teams ahead of us. We feel that we belong at a higher position than the polls place us.
W: The team is facing nine of the pre-season top 25 this season. Will you be doing anything different to get ready for the competition?
R: Not really. I think that our focus will be to take care of ourselves on our side of the net. If a team is better than us, we can walk off the floor accepting that.
W: Has the team changed much since last season?
R: We only brought in two freshmen. One of the reasons that we are ranked so high is that we only lost one player (Raelene Elam) from last year.
W: Because of the heavy competition in the Pac-10, do you feel that there is a grudge match of sorts against the other coaches?
R: I don't think grudge is the appropriate word. There is a tremendous amount of competitiveness in our competition. The interesting thing is that the schools that aren't mentioned in the polls are extremely competitive. The ASU match is always a big match. There is a healthy level of respect between the institutions and coaches.
W: Are you upset that your sport doesn't get as much attention as football or basketball?
R: The general public tends to identify with those two sports the most. I call it "the curse of Arizona athletics." The general public are so accustomed to national-caliber teams that anything less than a championship is routine or mundane. The bar is raised extremely high here at Arizona. To really make noise, you need to be a final-four team (and) in contention to win a national championship. All in all, I feel like we get a pretty good amount of coverage.
W: What players should the fans keep their eyes on this season?
R: Marisa DaLee, who is a two-time All-Pac 10 team member, is arguably the best middle blocker in the country. The leader of the team is Dana Burkholder. Some have said she is the best setter in the country. I believe Jill Talbot, who is an opposite player, gets overlooked most often but plays one of the largest roles on our team.
