KEVIN KLAUS

UA senior setter Dana Burkholder sets for junior middle blocker Stefani Saragosa during a game earlier this season in McKale Center.

Friday October 19, 2001

The UA women's volleyball team last season coasted through Pacific 10 Conference play with only two losses.

This season it's been a different story altogether - UA has already lost three games.

Things won't get any easier for the defending Pacific 10 conference champions this weekend as they travel to the Pacific Northwest to take on Oregon and Oregon State.

UA head coach David Rubio said that winning on the road in the Pac-10 is a hard task to accomplish.

Arizona (11-3 overall, 6-3 Pac-10) is fifth in the Pac-10, three games behind conference-leading USC.

With the team's hopes of another Pac-10 title diminishing, and No. 3 USC and No. 5 UCLA coming to Tucson next week, the Wildcats' matches against the Ducks and the Beavers are must-wins, said Arizona senior outside hitter Jill Talbot.

"Every match is important for us," Talbot said. "To stay in the conference and national spotlight, we have to win. But that is not our major concern right now. We are focused on each opponent, a match at a time, and that is all we can do. The Pac-10 race is out of our hands."

With No. 7 Arizona struggling to find consistency, Rubio said they are not good enough right now to overlook any opponent they face, even though they dominated Oregon (3-1) and Oregon State (3-1) last month.

"We are going to have to stay focused and come ready to play in both matches," Rubio said.

However, Oregon (8-9, 0-7) might be just what the doctor ordered for the Wildcats.

Coming into the match with UA tonight, the Ducks are in the midst of an eight-match losing streak.

A bright spot for Oregon this season has been the play of junior outside hitter Stephanie Martin, who is coming off a career-high, 26-kill performance in the Ducks recent loss to Idaho St.

The Wildcats own a five-match winning streak against Oregon.

Oregon's in-state rival, Oregon St (12-4, 5-2 Pac-10), has been the surprise team of the Pac-10 this season.

But that record is deceiving.

OSU has yet to play the top teams in the Pac-10 - UCLA, USC and Stanford.

The Beavers' 12-4 start is the best they have had since 1996, which was the last season that they finished with a winning record.

Currently, the Beavers are in a tie for third place in the Pac-10, a half game ahead of the Wildcats.

"They are a very good defensive team," Rubio said. "We need to be able to pass and serve well in order to keep their defense off balance."

Rubio said that Arizona has to pass well in order to keep the Beaver defenders off balance. He said that should lead to easy points for the Wildcats.

UA's passing efficiency starts with senior All-American setter Dana Burkholder, who is second in the conference in assists with a 12.88 assist per game average.

Junior middle blocker Stefani Saragosa said Burkholder is the catalyst of the Wildcat offensive attack and that her play directly affects the outcome of every match.

"When Dana is passing well, it opens up the entire court," Saragosa said. "When she is on, she does so many amazing things with the ball and it makes everyone on the court better."

Besides passing efficiently, Rubio said Arizona needs to minimize the amount of unforced errors they commit.

In order to keep unforced errors limited, the Wildcats must collectively hit a high percentage.

Individually, Talbot (3), Saragosa (12) and Burkholder (23) are in the top 25 in the nation in hitting percentage.

"It's great to have good hitters to pass to," Burkholder said. "When they are hitting the ball effectively, it allows me to be more creative as a passer and that helps our offense be more efficient."

With the second half of the conference schedule starting this weekend, Rubio said that every match will play a significant role in the Pac-10 race and have seating implications for the post season.

"Oregon St. is going to be a real tough match, and we have to bear down and come out ready to play," Rubio said.