File photo/Arizona Daily Wildcat Freshman Kim Glass (left) and sophomore Jolene Killough have will look to avenge an early season loss to rival Arizona State this weekend in a battle of two nationally ranked teams.

When the Arizona and Arizona State volleyball teams go head-to-head, records and rankings can be thrown out the window.

The heated rivalry will take center stage tonight as both UA and ASU are ranked for the first time since 1995.

The No. 16 Wildcats (10-7 overall, 5-4 Pacific 10 Conference) are out for revenge because the No. 19 Sun Devils (10-4, 6-3 Pac-10) are looking to sweep the season series between the teams, after breaking out the broom on the Wildcats earlier in the season and beating UA 3-0 in Tempe. First serve is set to take place at 7 p.m. in McKale Center.

Head coach David Rubio said the Wildcats are much improved since their last meeting with ASU, and he is confident that will be apparent during the match.

"Revenge may be a strong word to use," Rubio said. "We are a much different team than when we played ASU and they are a different team. I'm confident that we will show that we are a much-improved team."

The Sun Devils have defeated the Wildcats this season and boast a better conference record, but still trail their in-state rival in the national polls.

With a chance to sweep the Wildcats for the first time since 1995, this match will be a heated contest.

Currently, Arizona is tied for fourth in the Pac-10, one game behind ASU and two behind second-place Stanford.

A win against the Sun Devils would propel the Wildcats into a tie for third in the conference heading into the latter half of the Pac-10 schedule.

During their first match of the season, ASU and UA played tough, but the Wildcats were unable to gain any late-game momentum and lost 31-33, 26-30 and 40-42.

The 42-40 game marked the most points ever scored in a Pac-10 game.

In the match, Sun Devil junior outside hitter Juliana Escobar was the story for the home team as she finished with a match-high 20 kills and 16 digs. Freshman outside hitter Kim Glass led the way for the Wildcats with a team high of 16 kills.

"Escobar is a great player," Rubio said. "ASU is a very balanced team and we have to worry about playing our game and not worry about who we need to stop.

Those two players will once again be the center of attention this evening, but Rubio is hoping that UA's offense will be more diverse than just Glass dominating opponents.

Rubio said he hopes Arizona's other two outside hitters, seniors Lisa Rutledge and Shannon Torregrosa, will continue to play a key role in the Arizona attack.

Arizona is coming off a match against Oregon State that saw four players record double digits in kills for the first time this season.

Besides the outside attack, freshman middle blocker Bre Ladd has come alive and will be looked upon to add another weapon to UA's offensive arsenal.

"Our goal is to be balanced," Rubio said. "We can not continue to rely heavily on Kim. When we get our middles involved, that means our passing is good and the ball is being distributed evenly. That is the master plan."

Glass has been the offensive catalyst for the Wildcat, but she saw her streak of winning kills in a match snapped at five last weekend.

"I didn't play well last weekend," Glass said. "I played bad. This weekend is going to be different. We just need to continue to get everyone involved offensively. Everyone is not always going to play their best, and when everyone is involved we can overcome that."

However, Rubio does not agree with Glass's observations.

"Kim did not put up her usual numbers," Rubio said. "But she did not have to. She is a great player and the great ones are always critical of their play. That is one of the driving factors that make players great. If Kim has extra motivation to play well because of her performance last weekend, that is great. I am not worried about Kim. When the game is on the line, she will be there."

This marks the first time this season that Arizona will have an opportunity to avenge a loss to an opponent, and Glass said the Wildcats are ready.

"We want to go out and show we are a different team," Glass said. " We struggled early, but I think we are going to show that we are the better team by going out and kicking their butt."