By
Brian Penso
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Rubio named coach of the year
The Pacific 10 Conference has honored five Arizona volleyball players as well as head coach David Rubio for its success this season.
UA junior setter Dana Burkholder became the first player in the program's history to be named the Pac- 10 's Player of the Year.
"All things run through Dana," Rubio said. "The setter by nature requires leadership qualities. The success of each player often depends on the success or failure of the setter."
Burkholder averaged 14.08 assists, which was third in the conference.
She also finished third in the conference with a 3.05 digs per game.
Besides having good individual statistics, Burkholder managed to lead the Wildcats to season-ending .321 hitting percentage, which ranks second all-time in Pac-10 history.
Burkholder realizes that she is the Wildcat leader and gladly takes on the challenge.
"I am obviously the leader of the team," Burkholder said. "I always have been, so it's not an added pressure. I really enjoy that position and the team responds well to it."
Four other Wildcats also earned conference honors.
Two UA seniors - middle blocker Marisa DaLee and outside hitter Allison Napier - received first-team All Pac-10 honors.
Junior outside hitter Jill Talbot and sophomore Lisa Rutledge were given an honorable mention.
"We have a very talented group," Rubio said. "It is a great honor to be recognized by our conference. It reconfirms the talent in our program."
DaLee became the second player in UA history to be named a three-time All Pac-10 selection and is the first to be honored in three consecutive seasons.
Dalee finished the season as the Pac-10's leader in hitting percentage with a.422 average.
"Marisa puts the team's success in front of her own," sophomore middle blocker Stefani Saragosa said. "She is a very modest person who works really hard. She has been a great leader for us all season."
Along with Dalee, Napier helped UA's offensive attack greatly with a team-high 395 kills to go with a career-high .279 hitting percentage.
Napier finished sixth in the conference with more than four kills per game.
"Allison has been so good for us all season," Rubio said. "She has played huge role on our offensive success this season."
DaLee said that either Talbot or Rutledge could have been named to the All Pac-10 first team.
"We have such a talented team," DaLee said. "Jill and Lisa could of definitely made the team. It just shows how deep our team is."
According to Rubio, Talbot and Rutledge are key components in the Wildcats' offensive attacking scheme.
Rubio was honored as co-Pac-10 Coach of the Year along with Jerritt Elliott of Southern California.
Pac-10 coaches had picked the Wildcats to finish fourth in the conference in the preseason, but Rubio led UA to its first conference title, sharing the championship with the Trojans.
Nine years ago, Rubio took over Arizona's volleyball program, a team that was winless in conference, and has begun to turn UA into a national power.
"Dave is really good at coaching each of us as an individual as well as a person," Saragosa said. "He just knows how to make each of us as successful as possible."
Rubio said all UA players will need to compete to their ability if the Wildcats are going to compete for an NCAA title. UA is currently the No. 2 seed in the central bracket, the highest Arizona has ever been seeded.
"In the past, we have had good years, but it has led to a low seed," Rubio said. "This year, all of our hard work paid off and I am real pleased with our No. 2 seed."
