UA happy to get Stanford out of way

UA happy to get Stanford out of way

By Sam Spiller
Arizona Daily Wildcat
September 25, 1996

Nicholas Valenzuela
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Arizona's Michelle Fanger (2) digs the ball while Barb Bell (10) gets ready to return it in the Wildcats' loss to Stanford Friday night at McKale Center.

Despite losing to second-ranked Stanford on Friday, the UA volleyball team is looking to begin a serious run at the NCAA tournament.
"I actually liked opening with Stanford," UA middle blocker Keisha Johnson said. "It's the team you wait to play, and it's kind of good that it came right in the beginning. We didn't have to wait until the end of the season when anything could go wrong."

After a brief appearance in the top 25 rankings, the UA fell back to No. 26 after last weekend, which included a win over California. Arizona took No. 2 Stanford to four games and swept the Bears.
"The rankings are always a little deceiving, " UA head coach Dave Rubio said. "We always feel like we're better than some of the teams ranked ahead of us."

Outside hitter Barb Bell had a double-double against Stanford with 19 kills and 10 digs. Her 36 kills over the weekend moves her up to 1,527 kills in her career, only 109 behind Terry Launcher's all-time mark of 1,636.

Arizona had a season-high seven serving aces against Stanford. Middle blocker Erin Aldrich led the Wildcats with two aces. Setter Michaela Ebben, defensive specialist Sara Johnson and outside hitters Bell, Michelle Fanger and Heidi Bomberger all tallied an ace.

Middle blocker Stephanie Venne came back in a limited role against Stanford and Cal. She was kept out due to circumstances surrounding her decision not to play in a match against Loyola Marymount on Sept. 14. Before that match, she was a regular starter.
"We needed to resolve some things and slowly get her back into the fold," Rubio said. "I wanted to get her some playing time this weekend and get her back in there."

Keisha Johnson put in a solid performance this weekend with 14 kills, 13 blocks and five digs. Johnson led the team in blocks both Friday and Saturday.
"Keisha is really coming into her own," Rubio said. "It's really exciting for me because when we recruited her she had no idea what she was doing as a volleyball player. To see her as a sophomore playing at a consistently high level is exciting for me."