KEVIN KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat Senior Shannon Torregrosa attempts a spike earlier this season against Pepperdine. Torregrosa changed positions this week.

With a week gone by since former Wildcat Stefani Saragosa left the Arizona volleyball team, head coach David Rubio has solidified his rotation heading into the Pacific 10 Conference season this weekend.

Senior outside hitter Shannon Torregrosa has moved to the middle to replace Saragosa, and freshman Jennifer Abernathy has moved into the starting lineup to replace Torregrosa on the outside.

"I have finally decided on a starting lineup," Rubio said. "Jennifer (Abernathy) has continued to improve and she adds a lot of energy when she is on the floor. Shannon would rather play on the outside, but she is an unselfish team player and she wants to do whatever it takes to help the team win."

Offensively, Arizona has lacked middle production this season, but the addition of Torregrosa should help the 15th-ranked Wildcats with a more balanced offensive attack.

"I am willing to do whatever Dave says," Torregrosa said. "He knows what is best. With Jenn in the lineup we are better. I would rather play on the outside, but this is best for the team."

Freshman Bre Ladd makes up the other middle blocker. She has struggled at times offensively, but Rubio said that her defensive presence at the net has been vital for the Wildcats.

"Bre has not had as many touches as we would like and that has to change," Rubio said. "Bre is a great blocker and she has done a great job so far this season."

Moving from outside to middle is not something new for Torregrosa, who played in the middle during her freshman and sophomore year when Saragosa went down to injury.

The major difference between the outside and the middle is that middle blockers are depended to provide more of a defensive presence along with an offensive attack.

"The middle is tough," Torregrosa said. " I forgot how hard it is to block at the net. It is a real battle. It is just so important that we get more offense from our middles and Dave thinks this move will help us."

In any team sport, the saying usually holds true that "defense wins championships." That holds true in volleyball as well.

The Wildcats have the talent offensively to compete with the best teams in the country.

However, their depth on the defensive side is often overlooked.

Senior Rachel Williams leads the Wildcats defense along with junior Christina Frost and sophomore Kelli Mulvany make up a defensive trio that gives Rubio many defensive options.

"Rachel has played great for us," Rubio said. "Kelli has been playing well and I am comfortable with either of them on the court. Christina is also used and they each bring something different to the court."

Frost, who also plays outside hitter, said the depth the Wildcats have will play a key role in the success that they will have this season.

"Everyone is bound to have a bad night," Frost said. "When someone is struggling, it is nice to have the depth, especially when defense plays such a big role in the success of our team."

Senior outside hitter Lisa Rutledge passed associate head coach Charita Johnson on the all-time UA kills list. Rutledge tallied 23 kills last weekend in the Nike Pacific Invitational.

Rutledge has accumulated 1,153 kills in her three plus year career at Arizona öö 19 more then Johnson.

With the addition of freshman outside hitter Kim Glass, Rutledge has taken on a smaller attacking role this season, but coaches have admired her consistency and unselfishness.

"Lisa is so stable," Johnson said. "She is not getting as many swings as she did last season, but she is playing great and doing whatever she can to help the team win."

Realistically, Rutledge could pass Melissa Ferris, who ranked third in Arizona history with 1,273 career kills, before the end of the season.