Volleyball still controls own destiny in NCAA seeding

The fourth-ranked UA women's volleyball team is on the verge of obtaining its first-ever No. 1 seed in this year's NCAA tournament. All it needed to do, heading into this weekend, was win its final six matches.

The number was reduced to four after the Wildcats (18-3 overall, 13-3 Pac-10) defeated Washington and Washington State this past weekend.

"It was an awesome weekend for us," senior middle blocker Erin Sebbas said. "We were not as smooth as we usually are, but no one was worried. Everyone came together. It was nice that as a team we were able to pull out the win in both matches."

Arizona's victories against the Huskies and Cougars marked their school-record 10th consecutive Pacific 10 Conference victory.

UA was led by All-American senior setter Dana Burkholder in its 3-0 win against WSU (30-24, 30-26, 30-27).

Burkholder accumulated 42 assists, nine kills and nine digs and failed to commit an attack error while tallying a match-high .562 hitting percentage.

But the story of the match for the Wildcats was their defense.

UA came into the match holding opponents to a .186 hitting percentage, good for third in the Pac-10.

In the first two games against WSU, UA held the Cougars under .100 hitting percentage.

UA dominated the Cougars in every statistical category to earn its 10th consecutive Pac-10 victory.

However, things were not as smooth for the Wildcats in their victory over the Huskies Friday.

Arizona defeated Washington 3-1(30-26, 30-19, 28-30, 30-27), but individually, many Wildcats struggled.

The lone bright spot for the Wildcats was the play of their seniors - Burkholder, Sebbas and outside hitter Jill Talbot.

Burkholder recorded her fifth career triple-double and second against the Huskies this season.

Burkholder finished the match with 64 assists, 12 kills and 13 digs, moving her ahead of UA associate head coach Charita Johnson for the most career triple-doubles in Arizona history.

"As a team, we played well," Burkholder said. "We were mentally tough and we were not willing to give up on any point, and that is what we need heading into the postseason. As individuals, we struggled this weekend, but we dug deep down as a team. We have done that all year, but this weekend we really learned how to play as a team."

Talbot almost matched Burkholder's triple-double with 19 kills, 9 digs and 9 assists.

Sebbas added 13 kills along with a .423 hitting percentage.

Burkholder, Talbot and Sebbas' play overcame the struggles of junior outside hitters Lisa Rutledge and Shannon Torregrosa and junior middle blocker Stefani Saragosa.

Rutledge finished the match with 17 kills but hit only .123, well below her season average of .310.

Torregrosa, who has been Arizona's top attacker the past two weeks, cooled off against the Huskies.

The junior finished with 10 kills, but she had 12 attack errors, leading to a negative hitting percentage, her lowest of the season.

Saragosa, who is second in the Pac-10 with a .404 hitting percentage, hit only .222 against the Huskies.

The Wildcats have two conference matches left this weekend against No. 3 Stanford and California in McKale Center.

With the postseason approaching, Rutledge said that Arizona's performance against the Huskies was a wake-up call.

"This weekend was more about playing as a team than anything," Rutledge said. "Everyone worked hard in order to give their best to win the match. It was a good match for us because it gave us a wake-up call for the postseason."