Arizona volleyball would be wise not to let Washington State's 2003 record and lack of returning starters fool them into believing their trip to Pullman will be easy.

Just ask Loyola Marymount.

No. 16 Arizona (6-4) travels to Washington State tonight to take on the Cougars (3-6). WSU, which was picked by Pacific-10 Conference coaches to finish eighth, lost five starters from last year to graduation, but is coming off a four game upset of No. 22 Loyola Marymount.

With the upset, the Cougars have now beaten six of the last seven ranked opponents to visit their home, Bohler Gym ÷ the arena UA head coach Dave Rubio considers the Pac-10's best.

"I think it's the best venue in the Pac-10 for volleyball because it's fan friendly; the fans are right on top of you," Rubio said. "The crowd can be pretty vicious at times, but I think they appreciate good volleyball. I think that Washington State always plays well at home because of their home court advantage, so those factors make it a difficult place to play."

Washington State is led by senior outside hitter Zanda Bautre, the reigning Pac-10 player of the week. Freshman middle blocker Jen Barcus leads all Pac-10 freshmen and is fifth overall in the conference with 1.28 blocks per game. Eighteen of her 46 blocks have come in the UA's last two matches.

With the loss of so many seniors, Washington State will lean heavily on its newcomers: a freshman class ranked eighth in the country by Volleyball Magazine.

"I think they did a terrific job of coaching at Washington State," Rubio said. "Their whole roster looks like it's nothing but freshmen on that team, and for them to beat a good team like Loyola shows that they're a team you have to contend with. It also shows how difficult it is to play in Pullman."

In the preseason coaches' poll, the Cougars were ranked No. 19, thanks to their 2002 campaign in which they had a 24-8 record, made an Elite 8 appearance, and finished the season ranked No. 7.

The Cougars opened their season with a four game victory over Oklahoma, but then dropped six straight matches. They've followed the losing streak with a pair of wins, including the upset of LMU.

WSU defeated Arizona last year in five games in Pullman, snapping an eight match winning streak by the Wildcats. Arizona beat the Cougars in five games in Tucson later in the season.