Men's volleyball remains undefeated

The No. 1-ranked and undefeated Arizona men's volleyball team dominated competition and kept its perfect season intact at its last home meet of the season at the Student Recreation Center two weeks ago.

The Wildcats went 9-0 in the tournament and improved their season record to 30-0 while not losing a single game of any match.

During pool play, Arizona beat No.8 Illinois 25-12, 25-18; No. 5 Cal State Sacramento 25-21, 25-12; the No.2-ranked Canadian team - the University of Victoria British Columbia - 25-15, 25-11; No. 9 Colorado 25-12, 25-18; No. 3 Texas A&M 25-19, 25-20; and Graceland College 25-22, 25-16.

In the playoffs, the Wildcats defeated No. 5 Cal State Sacramento 26-24, 28-26 in the quarterfinals; No. 2 Utah Valley State 25-17, 25-16 in the semifinals; and No. 3 Texas A&M 25-23, 25-8 to win the tournament title.

Senior setter Jeff Grobe, who had 81 assists and 13 service aces, was named tournament MVP. Freshman opposite Britt Burridge and graduate middle blocker Scott Ogilvie were also named to the all-tournament team.

"Given the overall quality of the tournament (nine of the top 13 teams in the country), I thought we performed at a very high level," head coach Steve Carlot said. "I was especially pleased with the passing, blocking and defense."

The team hit .481 for the weekend. The middle blockers combined for a .700 hitting percentage, with Ogilvie hitting .667 and sophomore Phillippe Tuccelli hitting .800. Senior outside hitter Matt Olson hit .446, and junior outside hitter Turner Elliot hit .500.

"Our setters did a great job of getting the middles involved in the offense, and they really came through," Carlot said. "But we still have a lot of progress to make before we go to our conference tournament and then to nationals."

Arizona next travels to a tournament at the University of Utah this weekend, followed by regionals on April 5-6. The season concludes with the national tournament in Dallas on April 18-20.

Women's club volleyball finishes fourth at Las Vegas tourney

The UA women's club volleyball A team placed fourth in a field of eight teams in a tournament in Las Vegas two weeks ago.

The other teams included A and B teams from the University of Colorado,

Colorado State University, Southern Utah University, the Wildcat B team and a USAV non-collegiate club team from Las Vegas.

Though the tournament was in Las Vegas, the Wildcats were the host team. Due to financial difficulties throughout the league, a neutral site was agreed upon that would accommodate travel for all teams.

The Las Vegas USAV team won the tournament, followed by the A teams from Colorado State and Colorado.

"The amount of time and dedication that these girls put in is absolutely amazing," UA club team president JoLyn Tatum said. "We all truly love this sport, and trust me, we make a lot of sacrifices for it."

Up next for the Wildcats is the regional tournament to be held at the end of March in an undetermined site, with Las Vegas the most likely location.

Afterwards, the A team is headed to the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association national tournament in Dallas.