If the Arizona volleyball team wants to enter the NCAA tournament in November, it will need to win some key matches against Pacific 10 Conference opponents in the next six weeks.

"We're a team that's just on the edge of turning the corner and becoming a great team," UA head coach Dave Rubio said. "If we could just get a few breaks and continue to build our confidence on the way, I think that will be the biggest difference."

This weekend the Wildcats lost to Arizona State in a five-game duel. The Sun Devils won the last three games by an average of 3.3 points. ASU has won the last 12 matches against Arizona.

"It was very devastating, especially winning the first two games and losing the next three," freshman Erin Aldrich said. "There was really no reason for it. I don't know what happened to us. It's just really devastating and heartbreaking."

This weekend the Wildcats will head north to play No. 14 Washington and No. 13 Washington State.

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The Wildcats are 3-4 in the Pac-10 with 11 matches left. Arizona is tied for seventh with Arizona State The Wildcats are officially only four games back, but that is a big margin considering they have won only three conference matches this season.

The gap could decrease this weekend when the Los Angeles schools travel to the Bay Area to face No. 3 Stanford and California. Stanford has yet to lose a match in conference play. If ASU plays well this weekend there could be a lot of teams with five or s ix wins, and that bodes well for Arizona.

On the other hand, if the Wildcats get swept this weekend it could very well end their hopes of making waves in the conference.

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Barb Bell is now only nine kills away from the Arizona career kills record. The record of 1,637 kills, set by Terry Launcher, has stood for six years.

Bell has had at least nine kills in each of her last 50 matches, so it is a good bet she will come back from Washington as UA's all-time leader.

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Aldrich has come alive as a major offensive weapon for the Wildcats. She led the team in kills against ASU with 18. She also led the team in kills against the U.S. National Team.

"Erin's going to be a fine player," Rubio said. "It's obvious to anyone who watches this team."

Former Wildcat and U.S. team member Caren Kemner said that Adrich stood out in the match.

"You can tell where she's really gifted with her legs," Kemner said. "Ôt's just getting the whole body to work together - that's the hardest thing when you are freshmen and sophomores. I think she's got extreme potential. Anybody that jumps higher than I do, I'll give all the credit in the world."

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Kemner also commented on how the team has improved since she was here in 1985.

"They are better, strong, more physically fit and active," Kemner said. "I think they are doing a great job here. I just want them to make that final break so they can get that (winning) feeling. It's such a different feeling, and you never want to go bac k down."

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