UA hopes to end 4-game losing streak

UA hopes to end 4-game losing streak

By Sam Spiller
Arizona Daily Wildcat
October 25, 1996

Gregory Harris
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Junior Sara Johnson will try to help Arizona end its four-game losing streak when the team takes on Oregon and Oregon State this weekend at McKale Center.

The time has come for the Arizona volleyball team to take its fate into its own hands.
The Wildcats need wins if they hope to make it into postseason play. The good news is that head coach Dave Rubio thinks the Wildcats are as physically talented as any team in the Pacific 10 Conference.
The bad news is that they have lost six out of the last nine Pac-10 matches they've played.
"There is always a sense of urgency in the Pac-10," Rubio said. "Anytime you lose, especially when you lose four in a row, the self-doubt begins to creep in."
The Wildcats play the Oregon Ducks (7-12 overall, 1-8 in the Pac-10) tonight at 7 and the Oregon State Beavers (14-5, 4-5) Sunday at 1. Both matches are at McKale Center.
Oregon is tied for last in the Pac-10 with California. The Ducks' only victory came against the Beavers last weekend with four Oregon players setting career-high marks for blocks in the match. Tia Stewart's 14 blocks tied her for fourth in the Pac-10 record book.
Amy Barnes leads the Ducks in kills with 174. The Wildcats swept Oregon earlier in the season 17-15, 15-2, 15-3.
The Beavers are ranked No. 25 in the nation this week, and are sixth in the Pac-10. Oregon State beat the Wildcats earlier this season in three games.
The Beavers are led by Staci Hintz, who has 214 kills and 93 blocks. Hintz is ranked fifth in the nation in hitting percentage at .446.
Oregon State's setter, Miya Malauulu, leads the conference in average assists and is tied for ninth in service aces. Malauulu's 82 assists last weekend against the Ducks are the most by any conference setter this season.
The Wildcats will look to Barb Bell and Erin Aldrich to provide the offense this weekend.
On defense, Sara Johnson and Keisha Johnson will set the pace. The starting setter will be Michaela Ebben. The other key players will be Michelle Fanger, Carolyn Penfield and Heidi Bomberger.