For the Arizona women's volleyball team, it's going to get darker before it gets lighter. Last weekend's Doubletree Wildcat Classic and the previous weekend's Arizona State Invitational were filled with decent teams, but they weren't near the level of Pacific 10 Conference schools.

These two weeks have been a luxury for a team that can use every break it can get. In two weeks the Wildcats begin their conference play in arguably the toughest in the NCAA: the Pac-10. The conference has five ranked teams, including No. 2 Stanford.

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Despite the fact they beat every one of their opponents, losing only one game, head coach Dave Rubio knows the Wildcats need to work on a few potential problems.

"It's two things," Rubio said. "Serving really, in my mind, predicates the whole tempo, the rhythm of our game. If we can get them out of where they can set all three options and we can get them down to one or two options, we are going to be a lot better in the end. The other thing is that we have to pass."

Outside hitter Barb Bell also had a few things to say on the subject of problem areas.

"Probably just our middle connection to the setter," Bell said. "He's (Rubio) changing the tempo of the sets so it's kind of hard for them to connect. I think once that happens we're going be unstoppable."

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There was a reunion of sorts Friday when the Wildcats took on the St. Mary's Gaels. Former UA volleyball standout Trina Smith is in her second year as an assistant coach at St. Mary's. Smith was all-conference in 1989 and participated in the 1990 Olympic Festival. She left Arizona eighth on the all-time block list with 77. Rubio said he was pleased to see Smith, even if she was on the other side of the court.

"Trina and I have a great relationship," Rubio said. "This was the first time I saw her coach and I was impressed.."

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The Wildcats got production from everyone this weekend but it was at middle blocker that the team came alive. Stephanie Venne was voted to the all-tournament team, while sophomore Keisha Johnson and junior Tamika Dennis added depth behind Erin Aldrich.

"It's the middle position that's so talented for us," Rubio said. "I'm trying to get everyone an opportunity. Someone like Keisha, who is a sophomore, is an exceptional athlete and she's kind of wasting away on the bench. Yet she's not really polished enough to be out there compared to the other players, but she's got to get time in order to get polished. "

Bell said she's excited about the talent of the team.

"We have really good skill from the freshmen up to the seniors," Bell said. "It's actually a joy because now we can look at the bench and we're deep, whereas last year we could only put in one person and relied on me all the time. Now we can rely on six players."

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In the best match of the tournament, Arizona showed flashes of brilliance against a Portland team that had no idea what to expect.

"When you're not used to playing against that size, that kind of heat and that speed, it's kind of overwhelming," Rubio said.

In the first game of that match, good defense and key kills from Carolyn Penfield and Bell halted the Portland offense. In game three, Portland reached the epoch of frustration when Johnson and Michaela Ebben had the Pilots hitting in a closet with three straight blocks. All-tournament selection Michelle Fanger set up the game point, which came from an out-of-bounds Portland shot.

"I think that everybody stepped it up when they needed to," Bell said. "We just have to keep it at that level for every single point."

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