CLAIRE C. LAURENCE/Arizona Daily Wildcat Sophomore middle blocker Bre Ladd's performances in Arizona's sweep of Oregon and Oregon State were enough to earn her Arizona Daily Wildcat Athlete of the Week honors.

Ladd lifts cats back over .500

Last week in a match against Oregon, with her volleyball team needing a sweep, sophomore middle blocker Bre Ladd responded with a .606 hitting percentage with 22 kills on 33 attempts and just two errors.

In the tougher match against Oregon State the following night, Ladd, the 2001 Gatorade National High School Volleyball Player of the Year, had 14 kills on a sizzling match-high .650 hitting percentage, with only one error and a match-high seven blocks.

The Tucson native is sixth in the Pacific 10 Conference in aces and 10th in hitting percentage. Ladd, who mentors children at the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind (ASDB) and is fluent in sign language, talked to the Wildcat about the lack of a rivalry with Northern Arizona, the Bat Cats and not getting free Gatorade for life.

Wildcat: How do you think the weekend went for you?

Ladd: I think it was a good weekend for the team. The win over Oregon State was a very significant win because we expected to go there and get a sweep. It was a great weekend. It puts us over .500, so I'm not going to complain about that.

Wildcat: Did the team do anything special for moving over .500?

Ladd: (Laughs) No, we're not doing anything special. We're just taking it one match at a time and it doesn't matter what color jersey the other team is wearing or what it says on it. We need to just continue playing the way we have been playing.

Wildcat: What do you think about adding NAU? Are you excited?

Ladd: Yeah, I think it will be fun because we never get to play them, even though we're both in-state schools. I'm happy they're coming down here.

Wildcat: I'm from Tucson and I never really noticed a rivalry like ASU.

Ladd: Yeah.

Wildcat: Why do you think that is?

Ladd: I don't know. I mean, NAU's a Division 1 school, but I have no idea. I think it's just because of tradition. They're a newer school and ASU and U of A are both older. I don't know. I honestly don't know. (Laughs)

Wildcat: A wide receiver for the Bengals guaranteed that they were going to beat the Chiefs, who were undefeated at the time. Do you have any guarantees?

Ladd: No. Anything can happen at any time. It's been proven way too many times in athletics and especially in volleyball; so no (laughs), definitely not going to guarantee anything.

Wildcat: Where do you think the team's going to be bracketed if you make it in the tournament?

Ladd: I don't know. I don't really know the whole situation with the brackets. I'm not really good at guessing those things. (Laughs) Hopefully we'll just get in, and we'll all be happy about that.

Wildcat: What's the best part of going to school in the city you're from?

Ladd: The fact that my family is here, and I'm really close to my family so they can see all my home games.

Wildcat: What's the worst part?

Ladd: I don't know. I think the worst part is the fact that I didn't really go to see anything new. This is all the scenery and environment that I'm used to. I don't know that it's necessarily the worst part, but it's something I wished I would have experienced ÷ but then I think, I have the rest of my life to do it.

Wildcat: How did you get started with mentoring kids at ASDB?

Ladd: My mom works at ASDB. She's worked there for 16 years.

Wildcat: Is that the only other language you know?

Ladd: Yeah.

Wildcat: What's your favorite movie?

Ladd: I would have to say my favorite overall movie would be "Braveheart."

Wildcat: How come?

Ladd: It's so good (laughs), and I like Mel Gibson, so·

Wildcat: What's your favorite TV show?

Ladd: "Friends."

Wildcat: Still? (Wildcat, Oct. 30, 2002)

Ladd: Yeah.

Wildcat: And·

Ladd: I don't get asked for my five hottest athletes? (Laughs) (Wildcat, Nov. 5, 2003)

Wildcat: Do you want to?

Ladd: Uh, no, it's OK.

Wildcat: You sure?

Ladd: You're the interviewer, not me. (Laughs)

Wildcat: What are they, then?

Ladd: The five hottest athletes? I would have to say my baseball boys. I'm a little obsessed with the baseball team. They're my five hottest athletes. (Laughs)

Wildcat: You kind of changed your hair color. Why was that?

Ladd: (Laughs hysterically) I don't know. I just decided to do it because I think it's my natural color and I've never been a brunette. All my life, I've had blonde hair, so I just wanted to try something different. First I topped it all off and I decided to go brown, so it was kind of sporadic. (Laughs)

Wildcat: For being the best high school player, did you get a Hummer or anything, like LeBron James?

Ladd: No. I wish ÷ that would have been nice. I would not try to lie about it and say my mom got it for me, but no, I didn't really get anything. People ask me all the time if ÷ because I was the Gatorade National Player of the Year ÷ I got, like, a lifetime supply of Gatorade, but no, definitely didn't. I don't have a Gatorade card. I can't walk into any Circle K and say, "Hi, I'm the Gatorade girl. I'm going to get a Gatorade." I get that one a lot.

Wildcat: If you weren't playing volleyball, what sport would you play?

Ladd: I would probably be playing basketball or soccer because those are the two sports I was very into before I found out I was good in volleyball.

Wildcat: Did you hear Freddy Adu ÷ he's 14 ÷ signed a six-year contract to play Major League Soccer?

Ladd: Oh, I heard about that.

Wildcat: What do you think about that?

Ladd: I think that's crazy. I don't know. I don't think I could imagine being 14 and ÷ you don't even have your driver's permit ÷ I don't think I could imagine signing a contract. He's going to, like, make money ÷ like, big-time money. I mean, if he's that good at it, I don't think it would hurt. Is he going to try for school or anything?

Wildcat: I don't know if he finished it yet, but he was supposed to be on some accelerated program.

Ladd: So he's, like, super smart, too?

Wildcat: Yeah, I guess. What they do with the real good players is they take the GED or whatever when they turn 16 and then play. He's the youngest.

Ladd: Oh, that's kind of crazy. I mean, good for him. That's never been heard of, obviously. It's kind of crazy because it's so out of the norm. (Laughs)

Wildcat: What do you think is the worst city in the Pac-10?

Ladd: I don't know. I think USC ÷ like, the one we travel to?

Wildcat: Yeah.

Ladd: USC is in the smack dab middle of the ghetto and that's kind of bad. But, as far as activities, I would have to say Washington State. Pullman is just, like, I don't know. This is just like from driving to and from the gym, but I would have to say Pullman is just brutal because there's like nothing there. But I guess it's a very college town. The Oregon schools are very college town, (but) not necessarily for me. I think Tucson's just like a big enough city for me. But as far as safety, USC's definitely the non-safest. It is in the smack dab middle, like I'm afraid to leave campus there. (Laughs) You leave campus there and you're right in the ghetto. (Laughs) It's creepy.

Wildcat: Have you ever been to NAU?

Ladd: I · I don't think I ever have.

Wildcat: On three sides of NAU are graveyards.

Ladd: Oh. I don't know. I've heard NAU's a party school. I had friends that went there and said it's a party school. It's probably another typical college town, but I think Tucson's a college town.

Wildcat: What's the best city in the Pac-10?

Ladd: Besides Tucson? I like going to UCLA. I like that part of LA. I like Westwood. Stanford's pretty, but I like UCLA.

Wildcat: Are you guys the best 14-13 team ever?

Ladd: Oh, by far, because we have very big wins so far over top-ranked teams, two and three times, almost four with Hawaii. But I'm not really concerned about the record as far as the actual record. I just want to get into the postseason. So, if I have to be concerned about it to get in the postseason, then we will.