Of all the positions on the floor for the Arizona women's volleyball team, the most competitive is that of middle blocker.

Almost half the team is vying for one spot, because one thing is certain: Stephanie Venne has wrapped up the other.

Venne, a junior, was a member of the 1993 recruiting class that included Barb Bell, Michelle Fanger, Heidi Bomberger and Tamika Dennis.

"When we came in we were just the rookies," Venne said. "It was hard for us to imagine being a dominant team."

Venne, who is from La Verne, Calif., played for club teams while attending St. Lucy's Priory, a small Catholic high school. When her senior year came around, it was almost a given she would go off to pursue academics at UCLA or Stanford, given the fact th at she was student body president and had a 4.0 grade-point average. Nobody figured her volleyball skills would pay for college.

All that changed when Arizona head coach Dave Rubio came to see her on a recruiting trip.

"It's interesting, Stephanie was not a highly recruited player," Rubio said. "I had just gotten hired and it was our very first recruiting class. We needed some kids who had a particular physical skill that we felt could at least be good enough to play in the Pac-10.

"Stephanie wasn't trained at a high level when we recruited her but she had good size. I could tell that she was a good blocker and I liked her work ethic a lot."

The decision to come to Arizona was not an easy one for Venne.

"It was difficult for me because I wasn't highly recruited," Venne said.

"I had to choose between going to Stanford and not play, or go to Arizona and be a student athlete. Now, I don't regret my decision at all."

Venne has blossomed into one of the best middle blockers in the Pacific 10 Conference. Last season Venne played in all but one game and was third among all returning players with 231 kills and fourth in digs with 178.

This season she is ranked ninth in hitting percentage and 10th in blocks average. This level of performance was a long time coming. She joined Fanger in redshirting her freshman year, and in 1994 she played in only four games and had one dig.

"My responsibility is to go out there and play like I've been trained to play," Venne said. "I need to play with confidence and consistency."

Rubio said he can see a big difference between Venne's attitude in the past and her attitude now.

"Stephanie has struggled with whether or not she ever felt like she was good enough to be here," Rubio said."Last year she started for us, but it was almost as if she felt that she shouldn't be starting.

"This year she has evolved into a really complete, confidant, polished player. She's someone who knows she belongs out there at this level. She's come full circle from her old mentality."

Her position is one that requires physical skills but also intelligence. This may be the reason she has excelled in this position.

"I take a huge amount of pride in being a middle," Venne said. "You have to see the whole picture.

"It also requires a lot of instinct. Some players may have the skills to play the position, but not the instinct. I love it because you are directly involved in every play."

Venne's presence is not felt only on the volleyball court.

"She has contributed in so many different ways to this program other than just playing," Rubio said. "She's added class. She's added a great personality. She's supportive. She's easy going. She does a great job with the recruits.

"She probably doesn't realize how much she has made our program better, other than just being a player on the team."

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