Men win fourth title in five years, ĪB' women take 2nd

So much for the idea that the men's volleyball team was vulnerable. Arizona won its fourth national championship in five years in dominant fashion, going 8-0 and losing just one game in the tournament.

Going into the 2003 NIRSA Collegiate Volleyball Sport Club Championships, there was talk that the Wildcats (39-3), who entered the tournament ranked No. 1 for the first time in five years were down, but Arizona beat UC Davis 25-23 and 25-19 to win back to back championships.

Injuries, funding woes and losses prompted the tournament publications to call Arizona "an enigma" and said they were "hoping to prove that previous years were not just a fluke."

After losing corporate sponsorships, the UA had to pull out of tournaments and limit scholarships to ones that were promised last year. The adversity made the title more satisfying than last year's amazing season, said senior setter Jeff Grobe.

"Last year was pretty amazing, winning three championships, but the amount of stress and amount of work to make this season a success was really more of a reward," Grobe said.

The win is Arizona's fourth Division I National Championship in five years. During that span, the program has won seven national championships, which includes Division II and III titles. In 2001 the UA finished second in Division I.

Arizona beat Duke, Iowa, Penn State, Michigan, Cincinnati, Illinois and UC Davis in two games, only losing one game, to Cal.

The match with the Golden Bears, where the Wildcats fell in the first game, 26-28, was a "must win situation" because a loss would have knocked the UA out of the Gold Bracket and ended its title hopes. Arizona rallied to win game two 26-24 and won the final game 16-14 against the "toughest competition" Arizona faced, Grobe said.

Most of the other teams and fans don't like Arizona, because of the Wildcats dominance, and 90 percent of the crowd booed UA in the championship match, Grobe said.

"It is definitely a motivating factor," Grobe said. "It pulled us together and adds to energy on the court."

Sophomore opposite hitter Britt Burridge was named tournament MVP. Additionally, Grobe, senior outside hitter Turner Elliott and grad student middle blocker Scott Ogilvie were all named to the All-Tournament first team.

"We played awesome, the best all year," Grobe said.

The B team, which won the Division II championship last year, went 4-3, falling in the first match of single elimination of the Silver Bracket.

Women's ĪB' squad takes second place in Division II

In what was essentially its third season, the women's club volleyball teams finished 17th and 2nd in Division I and II play at the national championships.

At the 2003 NIRSA Collegiate Volleyball Sport Club Championships, the Wildcats' A team finished 17th out of 60 teams, falling to Illinois in the Gold Bracket in a tight match, 20-25, 25-23 and 13-15. Arizona went 4-3.

The B team, despite having to go through an extra round because it finished third in its opening pool, finished second, losing to Miami (OH) 25-17, 25-13 in the final.

"It was a good weekend all together," said senior outside hitter Lindsey Stefaniak.

Freshman setter Stephanie Schneck, freshman middle blocker Jean Walish and sophomore outside hitter Kim Darre were on the Division II All-Tournament team for the B team which went 5-5.

This is the UA's third season of competition on the national club level.

During the regular season, the A team won two tournaments, the San Diego So. Cal Classic, and the Colorado State University Tournament. The B team finished fifth in both.

"The girls are super dedicated both in play and fundraising," Stefaniak said. "It was an awesome season."