CHRIS CODUTO/Arizona Daily Wildcat Arizona junior libero Kelli Mulvany attempts to control a return during Saturday's loss to No. 9 California.

Slumping Cats swept at home, lose 5th straight

Arizona volleyball head coach Dave Rubio still believes the reeling Wildcats will get better. Of course, after five straight losses to open the Pacific 10 Conference season, there seems to be nowhere to go but up.

No. 9 Cal (14-0, 6-0 Pac-10) remained perfect by beating Arizona (6-9, 0-5) in straight sets. This defeat came a night after the UA fell to No. 4 Stanford (12-2, 6-0), 3-1.

The Wildcats have now lost five in a row for the first time since 1995.

Against the Golden Bears and Cardinal, Arizona's passing and setting was constantly inefficient, but Rubio said he believes the team is improving every week ÷ even if it is hard to see.

"I have full belief that this team has what it takes to be a championship-caliber team and, as disappointed as I am, I also know (the loss to Cal is) only one match, and nothing's fatal," he said.

The weekend seemed like it would be a good one for the Wildcats after they dominated Stanford in the first game of Friday's match, 30-23. But the Cardinal rallied to take the next three: 30-17, 30-18 and 30-24.

CHRIS CODUTO/Arizona Daily Wildcat Arizona's Jolene Killough, left, and Stephanie Butkus attempt a block during No. 9 California's sweep of the Wildcats at McKale Center.

Against Cal, the Wildcats fell in the first and last game, while losing a heartbreaker in between, 33-31.

UA sophomore outside hitter Kim Glass said she believes the team is very close to winning again.

"Right now, we are so roller-coastery, so all we have to do is flip the switch that quick," Glass said.

Glass, who had a match-high 19 kills against the Golden Bears and another 19 against the Cardinal, combined with fellow sophomores Jennifer Abernathy and Bre Ladd on Friday for 47 of the Wildcats' 60 kills in the match.

Rubio said his team has had to mix and match around the consistent Glass and junior middle blocker Jolene Killough, who enjoyed a .438 hitting percentage against Cal, because Abernathy and Ladd have been so up and down.

"All those close matches. If those guys show up at all, we're going to come out on top, instead of me talking to you about how disappointed I am," Rubio said.

Arizona had 30 hitting errors on the night, twice as many as Cal's 15. The Wildcats hit just .190, although their passing and setting was much better against Stanford, according to Rubio. He also believed his team came out flat on Saturday and couldn't bounce back after falling behind early.

"I'm extremely disappointed in our effort level," Rubio said. "I felt like (if) we had the same energy, same focus and the same continuity that we displayed on Friday night, we would have had a much better match and put ourselves in a position to beat Cal."

Rubio noticed Arizona wasn't as focused before the Cal match, and tried to warn his team about it.

"I used Îtenacious' the whole pregame. I think they forgot what that meant," Rubio said. "I should have given them some Webster's dictionaries, because that certainly wasn't a tenacious team."

The season will get no easier for the Wildcats, as they travel to Los Angeles to face No. 8 UCLA (12-2, 4-1) on Friday night, followed by No. 1 USC (14-0, 5-0) on Saturday afternoon.