CHRIS CODUTO/Arizona Daily Wildcat Sophomore setter Stephanie Butkus has jumped out to a quick start this season for the No. 17 UA volleyball team. Butkus is averaging 11.8 assists per game through the team's four games so far.

Sophomore Butkus steps up to avoid second-season slump

Sophomore setter Stephanie Butkus knows all too well the difference a year can make.

At the completion of the first week of the 2004 season, Butkus has averaged nearly 11.8 assists per game, contributing a total of 72 assists in Sunday's loss, a tough five-game match against Hawaii. The showing placed her in a seventh place tie for most assists in a single match in UA history.

After an up-and-down freshman season a year ago, Butkus contributes this season's early successes to offseason practice and better mental preparation.

"We had a really good spring season," Butkus said. "I've just really been working on my setting technique. I've been working at it and everything is starting to click. I feel more comfortable. We changed my whole setting technique completely. We played a lot of doubles so it helped my game, just every sense of it - learning, watching hitters, how to play defense better, and just make smarter plays and make volleyball plays."

"I have more confidence this year," she added. "It's easier not being a freshman. Being a setter, you have to be mentally tough. By learning the system, I've become more mentally tough as a setter and as a player."

Wildcat Classic Arizona Wildcats vs. Nicholls St. Colonels  Friday 10 a.m. McKale Center

Last year, Butkus appeared in all 32 games - 28 of which she started - and averaged 11.33 assists and 1.54 digs per game.

"I think she's a lot more confident," said UA Head Coach Dave Rubio. "I think fundamentally she's much better. I think she has a better set selection and knowledge about how to run the team.

"I'm really proud of her," he said. "I mean I'm on her a lot but she's assisting our team at being better instead of being a detriment like last year. We had to completely change her technique which was a really big thing for her I thought. She's always a hard worker and always does what everybody asks her to do. But fundamentally she was really inconsistent (in 2003). We had to change her technique and then go from there."

Butkus' teammates are also starting to take notice of the changes in her setting style.

"She just looks like she has an understanding of how our system is run," said junior middle blocker Bre Ladd. "(She knows) Dave's system and how he wants our system run. It seems to me like it's sunk and she got it. Because her technique has changed, her sets and her location (are better). She's a completely different setter. I wouldn't recognize her compared to last year."

With freshman setter Amy Dyck waiting in the wings, Butkus might have to share her starting time.

"There's pressure every day from Amy (Dyck), coaches and myself," Butkus admitted. "There's pressure every day."

Butkus, an engineering sophomore, knows how to de-stress, which is why she includes watching "The Price Is Right" as a hobby.

"I've always watched the show and always want to be on there and play Plinko," she said.

Butkus is not the only one that has improved since the 2003 season. As a team, the Wildcats have better averages than last year's team in kills (15 to 14.27), hitting percentage (.225 to .189), assists (13.1 to 12.82), digs (13.3 to 11.09) and blocks (2.8 to 1.82). However, the 2003 Arizona team averaged 2.55 service aces, compared to the 1.4 of this year's squad.

"It's just because we're a year older and we're a little bit steadier," explained Rubio. "We're more consistent in areas. And the fact is we've still got players who are getting used to the positions they play, which is huge. It's really a little awkward for some of them because they're not as comfortable as we would normally want them to be."

Arizona will host the Four Points University Wildcat Classic, running today through Saturday. Action gets underway tonight at 7 p.m. as Nicholls State competes against No. 18 Louisville in McKale Center, while Arizona first takes to the court tomorrow at 10 a.m., also against Nicholls State.