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Volleyball jumps above .500 with home sweep


Photo
CASSIE TOMLIN/Arizona Daily Wildcat
UA sophomore Meghan Cumpston (12) spikes the ball during the Wildcats' victory over Oregon State Saturday night in McKale Center.
By Lindsey Frazier
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Monday, November 8, 2004
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There is no doubt the No. 22 Arizona volleyball team knows how to win.

After sweeping Oregon State (30-18, 30-20, 30-17) Friday night at McKale Center, the squad's conference record finally reflects that.

For the first time this season, the Wildcats (15-8) hold a winning Pacific-10 Conference record with seven wins against six losses.

Arizona hit .393 on the night and held the Beavers to a .107 hitting percentage. The Wildcats also out-blocked Oregon State 10.5 to one.

"I thought tonight was one of the best matches we've played, even though maybe Oregon State didn't play particularly well," said UA head coach Dave Rubio. "From our end, I thought we played very well. It was real efficient (with) very few errors. From the complete match, I think it was one of the best matches we've played - from the serving to blocking to passing to defense. I thought it was terrific."

Despite adding 16 kills and five digs to the victory, senior middle blocker Jolene Killough snapped her five-match errorless streak. She entered the night without committing an attack error since the Washington State match Oct. 15, but had a lone error in the first play of the third game. Throughout the streak, Killough made 49 kills on 72 attempts with no errors for a hitting percentage of .681.

"(Killough's) play reflects our team play," Rubio said. "In the beginning we struggled, and I think she struggled. In the middle and towards the end (of the season), she started to play a little more consistently on the offense and our team is reflecting that also. Jolene only makes one error every four games and I hope our team follows suit. In all my 13 years of coaching, I've never had a senior not play well at some time during their senior year."

Sophomore setter Stephanie Butkus notched 44 assists while seniors Cassidy Crum and Kelli Mulvany contributed eight and nine digs, respectively. Junior outside hitter Kim Glass recorded 16 kills and 12 digs for her seventh double-double on the year, while sophomore outside hitter Meghan Cumpston had three service aces, seven kills and five digs on the night.

"I think (Oregon State is) a much better team than they were before, even though they were lacking one of their key ingredients," said Glass, noting that the Beavers were without senior middle blocker Amanda Eggert. "They're a lot more fiery, a lot more confident and their defense just gets better and better. Oregon State has always been a good defensive team. They were really good competition."

In the final game, Killough's error put Arizona at early deficit before the team quickly led by as many as 14 points. The Wildcats closed out the victory 30-17, out-hitting the Beavers .333 to .057 and out-blocking them 6-0.

The second game was back and forth initially. The match was knotted at 14 points before Arizona unleashed a 9-0 scoring drive to take a 23-14 lead. The Wildcats combined for a .368 hitting percentage while the Beavers hit .184 on the match.

In the first game, the Wildcats got off to an early six-point lead before the Beavers scored four consecutive points, forcing an Arizona timeout. The home team scored six straight points once play resumed and finished the match 30-18. Arizona out-hit Oregon .472 to .077 and out-blocked them three to zero.

The Wildcats hit the road this week to face No. 1 Washington on Thursday at 7 p.m. and Washington State Friday at 7 p.m. PST.

"Washington is obviously the best team in the country at this point," Rubio said. "I think we're all looking forward to playing them because we know that we're playing well. We're starting to play at the level that we all thought we would be playing at the beginning of the year. It's going to be a neat opportunity to match the two teams. I think physically we're every bit as good as Washington. It will be interesting to see how we react when we're on the road up there at their place."

"We're ready for Washington," echoed Glass, a two-time All-American. "They're a good team but we just keep getting better every day, and we think that we're definitely going to beat Washington and Washington State, we can't overlook the other (team)."



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