By
Brian Penso
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Pac-10 faring well in NCAA Tournament
This past weekend against Michigan marked the final time that UA seniors - outside hitter Allison Napier, middle blocker Marisa DaLee, and defensive specialist Elvina Clark - would take the floor at McKale Center.
The seniors went out victorious, as No. 5 UA defeated the Wolverines, 15-1, 15-1, 15-8, in front of a home crowd of 2,195 cheering fans.
"It was really nice to play at McKale Center during the playoffs," DaLee said "It was a great goodbye farewell."
Individually, DaLee finished her career at McKale Center with 13 kills to go with a .667 hitting percentage and a match high nine blocks.
Napier ended the match with 10 kills, but head coach David Rubio said her presence alone was very important to the team's overall success.
Clark, who often gets overlooked, played solid defense against U-M and helped pace the Wildcats in their win.
Arizona held a "Senior Night" on Nov. 18 against Arizona State to honor DaLee, Clark and Napier, and therefore, the match against Michigan was not viewed as a farewell.
"I don't think it crossed their minds," Rubio said. "We are all driven by the same external goal. We all know how good we can be, and we are just motivated to make it to the Final Four."
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The Pacific 10 Conference, which is considered by many to be the nation's best volleyball conference, led all leagues with six schools participating in the NCAA Tournament, including No. 1 (USC), 2 (Arizona) and 3 (UCLA) seeded teams.
With the field now narrowed to 16, the Pac-10 still has three teams remaining in the NCAA Tournament
The top seeded Trojans, the host of the West Regionals, have cruised to victories against Cal -Poly San Luis Obisbo and Georgia Tech without losing a game.
The Trojans will next face the Florida Gators, a team that almost upset the Wildcats on Nov. 7.
Arizona has also breezed through its first two matches in impressive fashion, as they allowed a combined 17 points versus Alabama A&M and Michigan.
The Wildcats now travel to Lincoln, Neb., to take on the third-seeded BYU, whom Arizona defeated 3-1 earlier in the season.
The third-seeded Bruins barely survived their second-round match versus Michigan State, as it came back from a 2-1 game deficit to defeat the Spartans 3-2 to earn a berth in the round of 16.
UCLA will be playing the No. 2-seeded Wisconsin Badgers in its upcoming match this weekend.
"This is great for the Pac-10," junior outside hitter Jill Talbot said. "We have known all along that the Pac-10 is strong in volleyball. The three teams left deserve to be where they are, and it is great to see people we have played against all year show the country how strong our conference is."
Brian Penso can be reached at sports@wildcat.arizona.edu.
