Shane Dale Assistant Sports Editor

As assistant sports editor, it's a little embarrassing to admit that Friday night's game against Southern Cal at the McKale Center is the first UA volleyball game I've ever attended.

Not only embarrassing, but regrettable - it was a hell of a lot of fun.

There's no doubt the Wildcats (12-13) are by far the best under-.500 team in the country. But in order to qualify for volleyball's NCAA Tournament, a team must finish with a winning record.

The Wildcats have five games remaining on their schedule. They must win four.

They will.

How do I know? I watched them lose to USC.

After winning four straight matches and 12 straight games at home, Arizona was upended by the Trojans Friday night.

But, oh yeah, the Trojans happen to be the top-ranked team in the nation. And, oh yeah, they haven't lost a match after 24 chances this season. And, oh yeah, Arizona beat them in the second game of the match, handing them just their fourth loss in 73 games this year.

The Wildcats swept No. 6 UCLA in McKale the night before. Four wins in seven games against that combo isn't bad.

Since the sport is played during the fall, volleyball traditionally plays second fiddle to football on campus and in the paper. But there's a reason the Wildcat has given out more Athlete of the Week honors this semester to volleyball than any other sport. These women make an amazing, resilient group that recovered from an 0-5 Pacific-10 Conference opening to push for a tournament berth.

Four of their 12 victories are over top-10 opponents, all but assuring them of a tourney bid if (and when) they win four of their last five.

As I discovered last week, it's not too late to get to know these ladies and enjoy their talent.

Talent that is not spread thin.

- The phenom that is sophomore outside hitter Kim Glass has led Arizona in kills in every match but two this year. Glass has snatched an Athlete of the Week honor in each of her first two seasons and is destined to break a bunch of UA and Pac-10 records that she hasn't already.

Against USC, Glass never seemed rattled - even after the Trojans racked up five or six consecutive points. She's by far the hardest hitter on the team, leaving lesser opponents ducking for cover (or so I've heard).

- Kim's best friend and fellow sophomore outside hitter, Jennifer Abernathy, was named National and Pac-10 Player of the Week last week for her performances at California and Stanford two weeks ago. More importantly, she was the Wildcat's Athlete of the Week as well.

Abernathy has led the team in kills both times Glass hasn't this season and is sixth in the Pac-10 in service aces.

- Stephanie "soft-serve" Butkus is Arizona's left-handed starting setter. Her serves seem to always just barely make it over the net, but they typically lead to a UA point.

In just her freshman year, Butkus has already won herself a starting job with the Wildcats - and won volleyball's first Athlete of the Week award of the season. The energy she brings when she checks into the game seems to infect the rest of the team.

Butkus is eighth in the Pac-10 in assists. Only two conference freshmen have more.

- Sophomore middle blocker Bre Ladd always seems to play under the radar for one reason or another. But she's possibly the second best player on the team behind Glass.

Somehow, Ladd isn't in the top-10 in the conference in any category, but she leads the team in service aces, and comes in second in blocks and third in kills per game.

A Tucson native, Ladd seems like the kind of athlete who's all business on the court and doesn't expect a bunch of fanfare. There should be more like her - in every sport.

- The 6-foot-5-inch - or shall we say, tall - junior Jolene Killough is seventh in the Pac-10 in blocks per game. The middle blocker swatted the ball in a Trojan's face more than once Friday, almost without jumping. The 1,200-plus Cat fans in attendance ate it up.

Killough squashes balls like a car does bugs. The court is her windshield.

- Junior libero Kelli Mulvany (the one with the different colored jersey) is one of the team's vocal leaders - and she backs it up by keeping many balls in play.

One of the shortest members of the team (a petite 5-feet-9 inches), Mulvany is the only Cat in the conference's top-10 in digs per game - only seven Pac-10 women have more.

- Junior defensive specialist Cassidy Crum transferred from Duke to the UA to continue her family's Wildcat legacy. Crum isn't among the starting six, but is fourth on the team in hitting percentage and sixth in digs per game.

Crum chews gum as if it was oxygen and is a tremendous Britney Spears fan. Be it her volleyball media mug, newspaper photos or live and in person, I've yet to see Crum without a smile on her face.

- Freshman setter Tyler Bowman has only played in 53 of Arizona's 84 games this season, but leads the team in hitting percentage by a wide margin. The second best Cat in the category is more than 10 percentage points behind Bowman.

- The only senior on the team, setter Kelly Griffin-Halfaker, quietly leads the team in digs per game and is second in assists. Griffin-Halfaker seems to have adjusted incredibly well to her reserve role behind Butkus.

- Freshman middle blocker Kristina Baum doesn't start, but has played in all but two of Arizona's games. A freshman, Baum takes full advantage of her playing time by stuffing the ball down her opponents' throats - she's fifth on the team in service aces and kills per game.

- Freshman outside hitter Meghan Cumpston has played in less than half of Arizona's games but is sixth on the team in kills and blocks per game. Like Baum, the less the UA's foes know about Cumston, the better.

You still have a chance to see these ladies before they head to the tourney. They have two more games at McKale this season, Nov. 21 and 22 against Washington and Washington State. Both games start at 7 p.m.

Be there or be nowhere.