KEVIN KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat Senior outside hitter Shannon Torregrosa (18), redshirt freshman Angie Ayers (right) and the rest of the Wildcats take on University of Texas Arlington tonight at 7:30 in McKale Center in the first round of the NCAA volleyball tournament.

Volleyball hosts Texas-Arlington

Get your brackets ready, because tonight the NCAA women's volleyball tournament kicks off right here in Tucson, as the Wildcats begin their quest for a second-straight Final Four berth.

The Wildcats take on Texas-Arlington tonight at 7:30.

The road this season will be much different than last year, however, as the Wildcats open the tournament at home rather than on the road, and have a much younger team than a year ago.

Coming into 2002, the Wildcats had to figure out a way to replace All-Americans Dana Burkholder and Jill Talbot, both huge reasons the Wildcats were able to reach the national semifinals.

The void left by these two was partly filled when the Wildcats recruited Bre Ladd and Kim Glass, who were the top two incoming players from the high school level, but as for the time it would take to fill the shoes, that was unknown.

As the team began to gel early in the season, former Wildcat senior Stefani Saragosa unexpectedly quit the team due to injury.

Head coach David Rubio knew at that point that the season was going to be filled with trials and tribulations, but win or lose, his coaching philosophy was focused on preparing the Wildcats for the postseason, and a run at a second consecutive Final Four appearance.

Tonight, Rubio will find out if his coaching philosophy has paid off, as the Wildcats play host to Texas-Arlington in McKale Center in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

"We are definitely happy about playing at home," Ladd said. "We received a great seed and playing at home is even better. We are excited to play in the postseason in front of our fans."

The 10th-seeded Wildcats (17-11) defeated UTA (26-6) earlier in the season 3-1, but Rubio said Arizona's victory is irrelevant and that they have not really paid much attention to the match in scouting the Mavericks.

"We played them so early in the season," Rubio said. "We are both different teams, and they have improved a lot since we faced them."

UTA comes to Tucson after earning an automatic bid by winning its second consecutive Southland Conference title.

The Mavericks play in a small conference, and winning the conference title is the only way for them to qualify for the postseason; but they are looking for more then a first-round appearance.

Last season, UTA failed to pull off the first-round upset, but UTA head coach Janine Smith said he hopes this year will be different.

"We experienced the tournament last year," Smith said. "We know what we are up against, and we want to go into the match and be aggressive."

The Wildcats realize that they should win this match, but the possibility of overlooking a first round underdog is always a concern for Rubio.

However, Rubio said playing in front of the home crowd will ensure that UA will come out firing on all cylinders.

"During the season, I like to play on the road," Rubio said. "It is a good change from playing so many matches at home, but playing at home in the postseason is different. We have been able to rest more this week, and playing in front of our fans will be great."

The successful winning formula for the Wildcats this evening involves senior setter Laurie Gardner's ability to distribute the ball to Arizona's four potent offensive weapons.

Offensively, All-America candidate Glass and seniors Lisa Rutledge and Shannon Torregrosa combine for one of the most potent outside attacks in the country when clicking.

With all of the talent on the outside, Ladd's play in the middle may be the difference in this match, and Arizona's chances of advancing deep into the tournament.

If Ladd can control the middle of the attack, UTA will have a long night trying to stop the heavily favored Wildcats.