Reserve outside hitters lift UA in weekend sweep

Reserve outside hitters Tatisha Ely, a redshirt freshman, and true freshman Allison Napier combined for a .521 hitting percentage in Arizona's 15-7 15-6, 15-11 sweep of Oregon Saturday night at McKale Center.

UA improves to 14-3 overall, 6-3 in the Pacific 10 Conference - which is best first half conference record in UA history.

The No. 15 Wildcats had little trouble sweeping Oregon State Friday in front of a record crowd of 3,927.

Arizona's wins and the Washington schools' weekend splits against Cal and Stanford created a three-way-tie for the third place in the Pac-10 behind Stanford and Southern Cal.

Ely and Napier haven't even played in half of Arizona's games this season, but they performed like starters against Oregon (7-13, 0-9).

"I've been trying to get them playing time and it's been tough. Both Tatisha and Allison - those guys are the future of this program," UA coach Dave Rubio said. "Quite honestly, even this year we've had a need for these guys."

Napier helped the Wildcats pull off a five-game win over Arizona State last month with the .500 hitting percentage she posted in three games.

Saturday Napier hit four kills and no errors in six attempts and Ely posted five kills and two errors in her eight attacks.

"I'm feeling more comfortable out there," said Ely, who entered the weekend with a .087 hitting percentage. "It's been hard being fresh out there with all our seniors and great left side."

Napier also recorded two solo blocks and Ely assisted on two others.

"They really got up there and picked a good spot," said starting outside hitter Carrie Penfield, a senior who led the team with 10 kills Saturday. "Dave tells me to always give them positive feedback or negative feedback to help teach them."

Ely and Napier, who are best friends, had combined for six kills in eight attacks in the first two games. Ely put her arm around Napier as they walked into the locker room for the break before the third game.

"When either one of us play it's a big deal. We always encourage each other. When she was blocking balls I was jumping around on the bench, and I'm usually pretty calm on the sidelines," Napier said.

Ely, who graduated from Tucson's Catalina High School, added, "We always talk when we're on the bench and tell each other when we get in to work hard and play hard."

Ely usually comes in to play the front row but Rubio kept her in the full rotation during the parts of Saturday's match. She recorded four digs but also missed a few Oregon dinks.

"Doing it in practice and in a game are two different things," Rubio said. "It's important to understand that these are your deficiencies and here's what you have to work on to become a complete player."

Senior Michelle Fanger carried the load for the Wildcats Friday against the Beavers in the game preceding the basketball team's Midnight Madness. Fanger hit a team-high 13 kills in her .667 performance in front of the record crowd. Oregon State's Heather Lowe led all players with 16 kills. Nearly 6,000 fans were in attendance by the time the match ended.

"Since we've never had a crowd that big, a lot of nerves were going through our bodies," setter Michaela Ebben said. "We did a good job of staying composed and taking a deep breath and just playing."