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By Sam Spiller
Arizona Daily Wildcat
December 9, 1996
All good things must come to an end, and on Saturday night it was the Arizona volleyball team's season that vanished into the night.No. 11 Pacific beat the 20th-ranked Wildcats inStockton, Calif., in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The match lasted four games, but after the second, there was little doubt that Pacific was the better team. The Tigers won 7-15, 15-12, 15-1, 15-8.
The Wildcats may have lost this match, but their season was nothing to look down upon. Here are the highlights.
They had a record of 20-10 overall, beating such notable teams as Washington State, Washington, San Diego State, UCLA and San Diego.
Outside hitter Barb Bell capped off an outstanding career by becoming Arizona's all-time kills leader, and she also became the only Arizona player to accumulate 1,000 kills, 1,000 digs and 300 blocks in a career. She was named to the All-Pacific 10 Conference team for the third straight year.
Freshman middle blocker Erin Aldrich emerged to become the much-needed second option to Bell. Aldrich's first season has been the best by a freshman since Bell's in 1993. In a 12-match stretch from Oct. 4- Nov. 16, Aldrich hit .326 with a team-high 57 blocks.
Setter Michaela Ebben assumed the starter's role and never looked back. She posted 60 or more assists in three matches, and became just the ninth Wildcat to post 1,000 assists. She is eighth all-time in assists per game at Arizona. She is sixth in all-time assists.
Middle blocker Stephanie Venne came back from almost quitting to become the spark that got Arizona into the postseason. She had a career-high 16 kills against Washington State on Nov. 16.
Outside hitter Michelle Fanger was named an Academic All-America. She is also fourth all-time at Arizona in hitting percentage. She matched her career-high 17 digs for the third time against Oregon on Oct. 25. She is one of only two Wildcats to start all 29 matches this season.
Outside hitter Heidi Bomberger became third all-time in games played with 426. Against Southern Cal on Nov. 1 she became the fifth Wildcat ever to compete in 400 games. The "iron woman" of UA volleyball, Bomberger has never missed a match in her career, and sat out only nine games. She is also eighth in career digs with 862.
Carolyn Penfield came alive at the end of the season to provide offense as the other left side outside hitter. She had 20 kills against San Diego in the first round of the NCAAs and hit a career-high .480 against Oregon State. On Nov. 3 she had 17 digs against UCLA, another career high.
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