KEVIN KLAUS

UA junior middle blocker Stefani Saragosa attempts a kill against Oregon State earlier this season in McKale Center. The Wildcats will start a three-game series against Pac-10 opponents tonight against ASU.

Friday October 5, 2001

UA takes on ASU, Stanford and Cal in make-up matches

The UA women's volleyball team hopes to pull itself out of a two-match skid when it faces off with in-state rival Arizona State tonight.

After its match with the Sun Devils, UA will then travel to the Bay Area to take on No. 4 Stanford and California.

The team's matches against Stanford and Cal were rescheduled for this Sunday and Monday because of the terrorist attacks that occurred on Washington and New York.

Arizona (7-2 overall, 2-2 Pacific 10 Conference) hopes history will repeat itself, as the Wildcats are 4-2 in matches preceding a two game losing streak.

"We need to battle this weekend," Arizona All-American setter Dana Burkholder said. "We need to put it on the line and go that extra mile to win. That is something that we haven't done all season."

Tonight's match against ASU marks the first time the Wildcats will play without junior outside hitter Shannon Torregrosa, who was suspended by UA head coach David Rubio earlier this week.

Junior outside hitter Christina Frost will start in her place.

Frost has big shoes to fill, as Torregrosa leads the team with 274 kill attempts this season.

Burkholder said that Frost will improve the Wildcat defense, which is something the team lacked last weekend in its loss to No. 3 USC.

"I am completely confident in Frost," Burkholder said. "She has great eyes and she is a big blocker. She is a better defensive player than Shannon and she will bring a lot to the court."

Rubio said the status of Torregrosa's return is unknown, but he is pleased with her actions since the suspension.

"She is taking good steps in regaining her status with the team," Rubio said. "I am going to take her situation day by day, and I just hope that she continues to work hard and prove to me that she wants to be a part of this team."

Even though Torregrosa won't suit up tonight, she said she would be sitting on the bench and give support to her teammates.

"I talked to the team and I have been practicing," Torregrosa said. "I just need to prove myself to Dave and it will work itself out. Being that I can't play, I am going to cheer from the sidelines and try to help my team in any way that I can."

ASU (5-6, 1-3 Pac-10) comes in looking to end their current three game slide.

The Sun Devils are led by senior outside hitter Jami Coughlin, who leads the team with 168 kills and is second in the Pac-10 with 3.49 digs per game average.

With the loss of Torregrosa, Rubio will look for senior outside hitter Jill Talbot and Burkholder to lead the Wildcats this weekend.