The No. 22 Arizona volleyball team (14-8, 6-6 Pac-10) evened out its conference record for the first time all season with a sweep over Oregon (30-17, 30-19, 30-19) last night at McKale Center.
All 14 women on the Arizona roster saw some playing time as they combined for a season-high .434 hitting percentage with half the squad hitting .500 or better.
"I feel for the Oregon team," said UA head coach Dave Rubio. "They've had a lot of injuries. Two of their best players got injured earlier in the year and they've struggled without their top players like any team would."
Senior middle blocker Jolene Killough added to her four-game errorless streak, finishing with eight kills on 10 attempts for a .800 hitting percentage and a match-high five blocks.
"I don't want to jinx anything, but Jolene is certainly playing some great volleyball for us," Rubio said of the senior's recent performances.
"I never think about wanting to make an error. I just go and I play and try not to make errors - that's my goal," said Killough, whose struggles earlier this season limited her playing time. "I was practicing fine during that time, just struggling in the games. As long as I kept practicing hard, I knew I would come out of it at some point.
"I think we came out strong and I think we had fun out there," Killough added. "I think we competed or they would have gotten more points on us. I just think we came strong and had fun, which is important."
Sophomore Meghan Cumpston led the team with 17 kills on .571 hitting, and junior outside hitter Kim Glass added 11 kills, four digs, two blocks and two service aces to the victory. Sophomore setter Stephanie Butkus had 29 assists, while her freshman counterpart Amy Dyck recorded 13 assists over two games. Senior libero Kelli Mulvany notched a match-high 16 digs.
"I think that in this particular match, we were able to be a little more risk taking with our serves," Rubio said in response to Arizona's 12 serving errors on the night. "In the game against UCLA, we only had five serving errors. I think that we're improving. We're working on tougher serves, jump serves. Jump serving always tends to have a little more errors associated with it. I'm not really too concerned at this point."
The Wildcats hope to build on their two-game winning streak as they take on Oregon State (9-11, 3-8) tonight at 7 at McKale Center.
The Beavers almost brought down No. 1 Washington last Thursday but lost in five games (30-20, 39-37, 16-30, 27-30, 10-15). Oregon State ended an eight-match losing streak Friday as it swept Washington State (30-21, 30-27, 30-18).
"Oregon State is playing some great volleyball. Obviously, they took Washington to five (games). Watching them on tape, they're scary. I mean they're really good and solid. We have to be ready to come play (tonight). I think that Oregon State is in the position to really compete in the upper half of the Pac-10. They've showed that even though their record doesn't. You just can't take them lightly at all."
The Beavers are led by Allison Lawrence, who averages 3.86 kills and 3.26 blocks per game. Setter Desma Stovall maintains 11.68 assists per game, while Nina Baltimore boasts a team-high 3.55 digs per game.
The Wildcats are 28-10 all-time against the Beavers and were victorious in the last 16 meetings between the two teams, good for Arizona's longest current Pac-10 winning streak. The two squads last met Oct. 8, when the Wildcats defeated the Beavers three games to one in Corvallis, Ore.