The Arizona women's volleyball team finished the weekend with a split against No. 4 Stanford and California.

The 16th-ranked Wildcats (13-9 overall, 8-6 Pacific 10 Conference) were swept by the Cardinal 30-34, 26-30, 19-30 Thursday, but the match was a lot closer than indicated.

Arizona had a chance to take the first game against the Cardinal, but Stanford showed why it is the defending national champion.

The Wildcats took out their frustrations on the Golden Bears with a 3-0 (30-18, 30-28, 30-21) sweep in one of Arizona's most dominating wins of the season.

"This weekend was a big step for us," senior outside hitter Lisa Rutledge said. "We had a hard, tough match against Stanford and we still came in against California well prepared mentally and physically. It was a big step."

Arizona only has four seniors on its roster and its performance this past weekend was a sign that the young Wildcats are beginning to mature into a veteran squad.

The Pac-10 has seven teams ranked in the top 25, which is more than any conference in the country.

This season, the Wildcats are 13-9, which doesn't look like the record of a team looking to crack the top 10 by season's end.

Most of the teams that are in the top 10 have no more than four losses, but play in much weaker conferences that have only one or two other teams that are ranked in the Top 25.

The strength of the Pac-10 was apparent this weekend as No. 4 Stanford traveled to Honolulu to take on No. 1 Hawaii.

The Rainbows were no match for Stanford as the Cardinal swept Hawaii 3-0 (31-29, 30-28, 30-24) to pull the upset.

"We definitely play in the strongest conference," Torregrosa said. "Stanford beat Hawaii in three games. That just shows how good our conference is."

With the season heading into the final three weeks, Rutledge said that playing in the Pac-10 has prepared them for the tough matches they will face in the postseason.

"Playing in the Pac-10 gives us a competitive edge," Rutledge. "Teams like Nebraska only have one or two teams in its conference that is ranked. Every match we play is tough and it will definitely prepare us for the postseason.