After staying in the relatively safe haven of McKale Center for three weeks, the Arizona women's volleyball team will travel this weekend to face Oregon and Oregon State.

The Wildcats are 10-2 overall and 1-1 in the Pacific 10 Conference. Oregon (5-6 overall, 0-2 in the Pac-10) remains unranked while Oregon State (11-1 , 1-1) is ranked No. 23 after beating Southern Cal in Los Angeles.

"You have to beat good teams to move up in this conference and Oregon State did that when they beat USC," UA head coach Dave Rubio said.

Tonight's game against OSU in Corvallis will be at 7 p.m. and is the first of two scheduled matches to be televised on Prime Sports. The match against Oregon on Saturday will be played at McArthur Court in Eugene at 7 p.m.

The Wildcats were ranked No. 25 going into last weekend, but a four-game loss to Stanford pushed them out of the poll.

OSU is led by Rachel Hochgesang, Staci Hintze and Pia Ahlengard. Hintze leads the Pac-10 in hitting percentage and is in the top 10 in average kills.

The Oregon Ducks are led by Amy Barnes, who has 122 kills, an average of three a game. Casey Crisler is a solid setter with 413 assists.

Barb Bell, Michelle Fanger and Heidi Bomberger will start as outside hitters for the Wildcats, along with Michaela Ebben at setter and Tamika Dennis and Keisha Johnson as middle blockers.

Dennis has come alive of late, earning herself a spot at the most competitive position on the floor for Arizona. In the match against Cal she had five kills, four digs, three blocks and one service ace. Against Stanford she had six kills, six digs and three blocks.

"They (the middle blockers) have all been playing well lately," Rubio said. "Tamika, I think, is playing better than the rest."

Ebben has played well of late also, adding blocks and kills to her team-leading number of assists. Ebben sparked the Wildcats to win the first game against Stanford last weekend. Her consistent play should relegate freshman Kara Gormsen to a strictly backup role.

"I see an improvement in both setters each week," Rubio said. "Michaela is getting more comfortable with her starting role."

The key for the Wildcats could be to play both matches equally. Last week they were worried that after playing well against Stanford they would let up against Cal. That proved not to be the case, but the fear is still there.

"I think we need to make sure we're prepared to take care of business," Rubio said. "We have to guard against an emotional letdown."

The constant for Arizona is the all-conference play of Bell. She is a leader in both kills and digs in the Pac-10. Bell has led the Wildcats in kills in every match they have played this season. She has missed only three games since 1993 and is second all-time in kills at Arizona.

"Barb just plays such a pivotal role in every aspect," Rubio said. "The rest of the team has to shoulder some of the load."

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