By
Brian Penso
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Wildcats show Bulldogs hospitality
It was apparent from the moment the match began that Alabama A&M was overmatched in every facet of game.
The Bulldogs, (31-3 overall, 8-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference) who are conference champions and are used to winning, finally met their match.
Bulldog head coach Betty Austin though realizes that her team is not on Arizona's level.
"To be honest we have only been Division I for two years," Austin said. 'That is due to our football program being Division 1-AA."
Rubio said that the emphasis for volleyball is a little different in Arizona then it is in Alabama.
Even though Alabama A&M was overmatched, Rubio was happy to see the way the Bulldog players continued to fight the entire match.
"I admired the players and they played hard and had fun, which is part of being here," Rubio said. "I made sure that we were not disrespectful in anyway throughout the match and we did a good job of that.'
Austin was very pleased at the sportsmanship that the Arizona coaching staff and players showed toward the Bulldog program.
"As the new kids on the block it is great to get the hospitality we got from Arizona," Austin said. "It does not matter how bad you get beat, you don't want to get beat, but it makes a difference to get beat by a nice team."
Throughout the match, Rubio subbed out star players such as senior outside hitter Allison Napier and junior setter Dana Burkholder in favor of sophomore outside hitter Shannon Torregrosa and junior setter Lauren Benward, who usually do not see much action.
"I was working hard to sub a lot in order not to run up the score like in football," Rubio said. "I did not want to show any disrespect. There coach is a really nice person and she understands where she is at and she approached it in a classy way."
Rubio hopes that the experience that the Bulldog players' received was beneficial.
"This provided an opportunity for them to participate in the postseason and hopeful this gets players excited about the game of volleyball. This was a great opportunity for Alabama A&M participate in the tournament.
Austin realized that her team is always going to have to play a top seed due to being an automatic qualifier, but she was very happy to be able to face a classy program like Arizona's.
"Its wonderful students have this experience, but it's always rough for us as an automatic qualifier," Austin said. "I wish I did not have to play against someone like No. 5 in the nation, but someone has to do it. I am glad though it was against a school like Arizona."
