CHRIS CODUTO/Arizona Daily Wildcat Junior Cassidy Crum serves earlier this month at McKale Center. Arizona travels to the Bay Area tomorrow to face Stanford and California.

Facing four top-10 teams in a row normally would be the toughest stretch of the year for ÷ but the UA volleyball team has already done that.

The Wildcats (10-11, 4-6 Pacific 10 Conference) face their toughest stretch rankings-wise, again, in No. 9 Stanford (15-5, 8-3) and No. 6 California (18-2, 9-2) this weekend in the Bay Area, followed by No. 8 UCLA and No. 1 Southern California in Tucson next week.

The first time around, Arizona lost to the Bears, Cardinal and Trojans, but beat UCLA (16-4, 8-3) in Westwood to begin a run of four wins in five matches.

Head coach Dave Rubio said the Wildcats, who have won four of their last six overall ÷ including a sweep of its last three conference opponents ÷ can compete with anyone except undefeated Southern Cal (20-0, 11-0).

"In hindsight, I was going, ÎJeez, I'm a sacrificial lamb for the University of Hawaii,'" Rubio said in reference to his team's recent road trip to Honolulu, in which the Wildcats nearly upset the No. 2 Rainbows. "We're traveling on one day's rest and yet it turns out to be ironically the one match that has proven to us as a group that we're capable of playing with anybody. Even though there are teams ranked ahead of us, we think that we're as good as anybody out there, with the exception of USC. USC is kind of on a different planet than anybody."

On the volleyball page of the new cable channel College Sports TV, cstv.com, a poll asks who is most likely to beat USC. As of late yesterday afternoon, the UA was last ÷ of four teams ÷ with 13 percent, while the Cardinal led all in the poll with 51 percent.

Wildcats drop from national rankings

Despite sweeping ASU and nearly coming back to upset No. 2 Hawaii on the islands, the Wildcats have disappeared from the AVCA Coaches' Poll.

After sweeping the Oregon schools last week, Arizona was the 34th team in number of votes received with 11, but this week, dropped to one vote or less.

Jerkov named player of the week again

Pacific 10 Conference volleyball fans could be excused if they think the volleyball section of pac-10.org is Cal outside hitter Mia Jerkov's homepage; there are, after all, four stories about her.

For the fourth time this year, Jerkov (pronounced "YAIR-cove"), who had 52 kills and 34 digs last week in Seattle and Pullman, Wash., won Pac-10 Player of the Week honors. This is the fifth time the Wildcats will face a reigning conference POW ÷ the second time it will be Jerkov.

Tracking the ÎCats

Arizona volleyball fans can follow the Wildcats into Palo Alto thanks to KZSU, Stanford's student radio station, which broadcasts all the Cardinal's matches, even on the road.

Match coverage starts at 7:45 p.m. Arizona time and can be heard on kzsulive.stanford.edu. KZSU Sports is one of only a couple stations that broadcasts all of its volleyball team's matches. It broadcasts eight sports in all, including Stanford baseball, women's volleyball, women's basketball, women's soccer, men's soccer and softball.

Live stats for the Cal match can be found on calbears.com.

Just one Abernathy

After the Golden Bears and junior outside hitter Gabrielle Abernathy beat the Wildcats and her sister, sophomore OH Jennifer Abernathy, last month, the younger sibling may have to wait until next year or the tournament to earn revenge.

Gabrielle missed Cal's trip to Washington last weekend with a stress fracture in her left foot and is listed as day-to-day.

Cardinal milestone

While Arizona sophomore outside hitter Kim Glass should reach 1,000 career kills during the Stanford game, Cardinal setter Katie Goldhahn has already reached a milestone of her own, as she tallied her thousandth assist last weekend.