The last time it played UCLA, the UA volleyball team needed a win to save the season.

Now, it hosts the Bruins in a quest to prolong its season.

Arizona (11-12, 5-7 Pacific 10 Conference) will look to once again defeat No. 6 UCLA (19-4, 10-3) tonight at 7 in McKale Center, and get one step closer to the Big Dance.

With a very tough match coming on Friday against undefeated Southern California, a win would mean the Wildcats would at least guarantee themselves nothing less than a split against the Los Angeles schools.

Including UCLA, the UA has seven matches remaining in which to get over .500 and make the NCAA tournament.

After hosting the top-ranked Trojans on Friday, the Wildcats head north to face the Oregon schools before hosting Washington and Washington State the week after.

Arizona concludes its regular season at No. 19 UC-Santa Barbara.

"They're all important, each one," said UA head coach Dave Rubio about the Wildcats' remaining matches.

UCLA comes to Tucson tied for second in the conference with No. 8 Stanford and No. 9 Cal. The UA is in sixth, a half game behind the Huskies.

UCLA, enjoying its highest ranking of the season, is coming off a pair of wins against the Washington schools. The Bruins have won six matches in a row - three against top-10 teams.

'They're a terrific team who's getting it done with other players on the floor," Rubio said. "They're very well coached; they've been in the top ten all year. They certainly have motivation to win, but we've shown that we can play with anyone, so I hope we're prepared."

The Bruins rank in the top three in the conference in opponent hitting percentage, kills, blocks and digs. Junior middle blocker Brynn Murphy leads UCLA with 324 kills - 3.81 per game - and a .312 hitting percentage. Junior libero Chrissie Zartman is second in the Pac-10 in digs with 4.2 per game.

UCLA has only lost to the Wildcats, USC, No. 2 Hawaii and Stanford this season.

The Bruins are Arizona's eighth top-10 opponent in its last 11 matches. The Wildcats are 3-5 against top-10 teams this season.

Going into their match at UCLA last month, Arizona had a five-match losing streak, and was winless in Pac-10 play. But their upset of the Bruins at Pauley Pavilion turned the Wildcats' season around.

Since the victory, the Wildcats have gone 5-3, losing only at No. 1 USC, No. 2 Hawaii and No. 8 Stanford. They have swept four of their last five conference matches. Arizona has a .280 hitting percentage in that span, as opposed to a .228 mark in its first 15 matches.

"At the time, we were on a pretty big losing streak, so maybe (the Bruins) weren't taking us as seriously as they had in the past, but I think that's all in the past," Rubio said.

Arizona has won its last two matches with UCLA and four of its last five.