SAUL LOEB/Arizona Daily Wildcat Head coach Dave Rubio has led Arizona to its fourth-straight Sweet 16. UA faces Minnesota tomorrow at 5 p.m in Palo Alto, Calif.

Over a decade ago, the hope for four consecutive Sweet 16s for the volleyball team would have been a laugh.

But those days are a memory, as last week's win over Texas propelled Arizona into its fourth- straight trip to the third round of the NCAA tournament, where it will meet Minnesota tomorrow night in Palo Alto, Calif.

The winner of the match will move on to the Elite Eight to take on the winner of the match between No. 2 seed Stanford and No. 15 seed Ohio State on Friday.

Head coach Dave Rubio has transformed the Arizona program into a national powerhouse and it has a chance to advance to its third- consecutive Elite Eight when it takes on the Gophers.

With an Elite Eight appearance on the line, Rubio is preaching to the Wildcats to treat this match like a Pacific 10 Conference match, rather than one with so much on the line.

"We are traveling to a Pac-10 venue," Rubio said. "The Pac-10 is a very competitive conference and playing against a team like Minnesota is nothing new for us."

This philosophy has also been very beneficial to freshmen Kim Glass, Bre Ladd and Jennifer Abernathy, who have never played in a match of this magnitude.

"I'm looking at this as another Pac-10 match," Glass said. "I learned against Texas that if I put too much pressure on myself that I don't play well. We are going to go out and play relaxed and have fun. That is when we play our best."

The Golden Gophers (32-5) and the Wildcats (19-11) are both young teams and Rubio said the key to victory for both teams will center on the ability to serve aggressively and pass efficiently.

"It all comes down to who can execute in the passing game," Rubio said. "Both teams rely on its ability to pass and serve. Whoever is on top of their game in those areas will dictate the outcome."

Offensively, both teams feature prolific hitters on the outside.

Glass, an All-America candidate, has tallied 517 kills on the season, which earned her Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors.

In UA's second-round matchup with Texas, the Longhorns put pressure on Glass by forcing her to return serves, which caused the freshman to lose confidence.

Rubio pulled Glass from the match in order for her to calm down and regain her confidence.

Glass returned to the lineup in dominant fashion to help lead the Wildcats to victory.

Rubio said the experience Glass faced in the Texas match will help her against Minnesota.

"Anytime you face adversity, it's a positive experience," Rubio said. "To be able to face a situation and crawl out of it is beneficial. Kim struggled and lost her confidence. For her to come back and help the team says a lot about the type of player that she is."

UM has a young player equally as impressive as Glass, however, in sophomore Erin Martin.

Martin leads Minnesota with 537 kills on the season öö 20 more than Glass.

Martin will give the Wildcats all they can handle on the outside, but offensive power is nothing new for Arizona.

During the Pac-10 season, UA's defense had to face the reigning NCAA Player of the Year in Stanford's Logan Tom, who is also a former Olympian and has been regarded as one of the best female volleyball players in the world.

After playing against Tom and teams like No. 1 Southern California, Arizona players said they are more concerned with their side of the net.

"We exchanged tapes with Minnesota," senior outside hitter Lisa Rutledge said. "We have been concerned with doing whatever it takes to get better. We just want to go out and play Arizona volleyball. If we do that, I think that we will be just fine."

Ladd said given all of the challenges the team has encountered, the next match should be nothing it can't handle.

"Playing a match like Texas prepares us for anything we will face," Ladd said. "Minnesota is going to be a challenge. We know what it is going to take to win and we just have to come out and do it."