The second week of Pacific 10 Conference play is over and, at 11-3 overall and 2-2 in the conference, the Arizona volleyball team has the same record as it did at this point last season. Yet the question remains: Will the Wildcats sustain their winning ways or take a second-half plunge as they did last season, when they finished 14-14 overall, 6-11 in the Pac-10?

Arizona will begin to answer that as it returns home this week to play No. 11 UCLA and No. 18 Southern Cal on Friday and Saturday at McKale Center. Last weekend the Wildcats split against the Oregon schools, beating Oregon and losing to Oregon State.

"The girls are in great spirits and are looking forward to this weekend," UA head coach Dave Rubio said.

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Outside hitter Carrie Penfield was injured last weekend against Oregon State when she strained her abdominal muscle in the second game. Even with an injury, Penfield still tallied a season-high 12 kills against the Beavers.

Rubio said there is a 50-50 chance that she will play this weekend. Penfield has split time with Heidi Bomberger this season and is third on the team in kills with 75. Bomberger is a ready replacement who provides more digs and service aces per game.

"I have all the confidence in the world that Heidi can step up," Rubio said.

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The setter competition has heated up again for Arizona. Freshman Kara Gormsen remains a viable option for Rubio when junior Michaela Ebben isn't doing the job for the Wildcats.

In Friday's match against Oregon State, Gormsen was called on to replace Ebben. Rubio uses Gormsen to try to get more offense out of freshman Erin Aldrich. Gormsen racked up 28 assists in the match and led the team for the fifth time this season.

It is doubtful, however, that Gormsen will see time in the starter's role this season. In the match against Oregon Ebben started and had 31 assists.

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There seems to be an anomaly in the way the teams stack up this year in the Pac-10 coaches poll. Arizona is ranked sixth, behind Stanford, Washington State, UCLA, USC and Washington. In the standings, Arizona is tied for fifth with ASU. Washington State and USC are tied for seventh with a record of 1-2. Arizona is not in the top 25 after losing three times in the last three weeks, all to top 25 teams.

This week may be essential for the Wildcats if they want to re-enter the rankings. A win over UCLA or USC could be enough to eke into the top 25. If they sweep both teams, a ranking would be almost assured.

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After a quick start in the non-conference tournaments, outside hitter Michelle Fanger's play has dropped off slightly. Fanger was second on the team in digs and kills behind Barb Bell before conference play started. Now she is third in digs and fourth in kills with a hitting average of .231, down from .263. Her assists per game average has gone up five points, but she has yet to play a significant role in any conference game since Stanford.

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Bell continues to play well for the Wildcats. She had a double-double against Oregon with 13 kills and 10 digs and had 15 kills and nine digs against Oregon State. Bell has yet to have a match in which she hasn't led the Wildcats in kills. She has also led the team in blocks on two occasions and in digs on four.

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Sophomore Keisha Johnson led Arizona in blocks over the weekend with eight. Johnson has steadily improved this season and in the process assured herself a starting spot in every conference game played.

Johnson leads the Wildcats in block assists with 35 and is fourth on the team in kills with 65. Only Tamika Dennis and Stephanie Venne have better blocks-per-game averages overall, but in conference play nobody beats Johnson's 1.50 average. Johnson has already tied her block assist total from last year and there are 14 regular season games left to play.

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