By Kristen Davis
Arizona Daily Wildcat
November 21, 1997

Wildcats must beat USC, UCLA for good seed at tournament

Arizona and Southern Cal are looking past the realization that tonight's winner is likely to be the team that is awarded the Pacific 10 Conference's second top eight seed for next month's NCAA Tournament.

Both coaches said the only thing they can focus on is playing a tough match in McKale Center at 7 p.m.

UA coach Dave Rubio did not offer any different approach to tonight's match against the Trojans and tomorrow's 7 p.m. meeting with UCLA, although his players realize this is not just any weekend.

"I said the same thing I say every week: practice hard and if we practice hard we'll continue to get better and that is the reason we'll play well," he said.

"The basis is that we're trying to go out and win a pair of matches," USC coach Lisa Love said. "The issue of placing seeds is out of our hands."

Sophomore Erin Aldrich said the Wildcats are eager to get the chance to play in a match that may determine a top-eight seed because, "if we matched up against the top in the country, we could beat a lot of them. We've got a lot more to accomplish."

For tonight, Arizona's primary task will be against the Trojans' Jasmina Marinkovic.

"They're going to push the ball to Jasmina anywhere within the ten-foot line," Rubio said in a scrimmage Tuesday, warning that if the team is not prepared, Marinkovic will hit .600 against UA.

She lit the Wildcats for .769 in September when the Trojans swept Arizona, allowing them to score just eight points.

"We don't forget about it but we'll use it as a source of motivation," Rubio said.

Part of the Wildcats' problem that evening was their struggling mental game. The night before they had outlasted UCLA for a five-set win that took three hours.

"The team has matured and grown from the first weekend through the Pac-10 season. They've become a lot more hardened day to day," Rubio said.

While Arizona faces pressure to defeat UCLA Saturday to retain a high ranking, the Bruins are under greater pressure to win.

UCLA (12-11 overall, 7-9 Pac-10) needs to be over .500 to be considered.

"UCLA got a break playing us very last and didn't want to be in the position of being on the edge of being eliminated," Rubio said. "Having the opportunity to play against a possible top-eight seed will give them a boost."

NO. 9 ARIZONA VS. NO. 7 SOUTHERN CAL

(19-5 overall, 11-5 Pacific 10 Conference) (20-4- 12-4)

7 p.m. tonight at McKale Center

SETTERS

Arizona's Michaela Ebben is sixth in the conference with a 12.24 assist per game average. The senior set a career-high in the team's last game when she recorded 67 assists, bringing her career number to 2,535 and is on pace to set the second best single-season assist mark in school history (Heather McCormack holds the title with the 12.53 average she posted in 1990). She had been among the conference's top 10 in hitting percentage most of the season for her useful dump on the team's second hit, but dropped off the list after not attacking a minimum 3.0 balls per game Sunday. Tonight, the Wildcats need Ebben to exploit her .365 hitting percentage, which would rank third in the Pac-10 had she taken six more attempts last weekend against Oregon State.

Southern Cal's Janice Mounts' 13.16 assist per game average is the third-best in the Pac-10. Mounts, a two year starter, became only the fifth Trojan ever to reach 2,000 career assists earlier this season, her junior year. The All-American candidate tallied aa career-high 79 assists against Washington last month, the fourth-largest total in USC history. Aside from Mounts' setting duties, her 5-foot-10 frame has proven effective at the net, with the third-best blocking average on the team at 1.02 per game. Her attacking has not been as successful. Averaging just .073 swings per game, Mounts holds a dismal .278 hitting percentage.

Setter's Edge - Arizona

OUTSIDE HITTERS

Arizona has a balanced player in senior Carrie Penfield. She leads the Wildcats in kills (345), aces (39), digs (211) and solo blocks (22) and is on pace to finish among Arizona's single-season leaders in three categories. Her 0.44 ace per game average ranks first in the Pac-10 and her 3.88 kills per game is ninth. Her supporting cast includes sophomore Raelene Morton and true freshman Allison Napier. Morton generally starts and Napier will comes in when she struggles. Napier has been looked to more since the Morton's kills per game mark and hitting percentage have dropped slightly as the conference season has progressed. Napier is hitting .219 in conference matches while coming off one of her best performances, finishing second on the team in kills (17), digs (12) and total blocks (2.5) Sunday against Oregon State. Senior Michelle Fanger also contributes to the Wildcats' offense from the damage she creates from the right side with her third-best 2.24 kills per game.

Junior All-American candidate Jennifer Kessy leads the team with 4.44 kills per game, good enough for the fourth-best mark in the conference. The three-year-starter's efficiency, however, is not as strong, tallying a .257 hitting percentage on the season (.239 in Pac-10 contests). The Wildcats need Kessy to have an erratic performance tonight to offset the team-best 3.06 balls she digs each game. Antoinette Polk rounds out the tandem. The redshirt freshman's 2.45 kills per game make up for the dismal .188 hitting percentage. The 5-foot-5 player, who can dunk on a regulation basketball hoop, is the best leaper on the team. She has struggled at the net though, stuffing just 0.32 balls per game.

Outside Hitters' Edge - Arizona

MIDDLE BLOCKERS

The Wildcats need the versatility their four blockers bring to the team tonight. All have played pivotal roles in Arizona's success this season. Sophomore Erin Aldrich leads this group with 2.50 kills and 1.08 blocks per game. She suffered an ankle sprain earlier this month and struggled in her return. Last weekend, however, she hit .571 in an error-free performance at the net Friday. Redshirt freshman Marisa DaLee and Stephanie Venne, a senior, proved their value to the team during Aldrich's absence. DaLee hit .429 subbing for Aldrich when she went down with the injury Nov. 1 and Venne hit .545 with three aces and five blocks against California the next weekend. Junior Keisha Johnson provides more depth to this unit with her 0.83 blocks per game average, the third-best mark on the team.

USC's Jasmina Marinkovic is one of the best middle's in the country, leading the conference with a .415 hitting percentage. She amassed a .769 mark (10 kills. zero errors, 13 attacks) against Arizona in September. That performance earned her national player of the week honors and one of the three Pac-10 player of the week titles she has received this season. Marinkovic, a junior, is also fifth in the conference in kills and blocks per game. Alaina Kipps, the other starting middle blocker, holds the second-best blocking average in the conference at 1.64 per game. Kipps, also a junior, averages just 1.81 kills in conference games and 1.94 on the season. The Trojans' other listed middles include sophomore Amber Oliver, who has sat out the season with a shoulder injury and freshman Sara Peterson, who has played in just one game.

Middle Blockers' Edge - Southern Cal

MATCH-UP

No doubt this will be an emotional contest for both sides. In addition to the match determining which team most likely earns a top eight seed for the NCAA Tournament, it is the second to last time Arizona's largest senior group will play at McKale Center. The implications of the match virtually assure a 5-set battle. Arizona has posted a 10-1 mark in such contests over the last two seasons and have won eight straight after defeating Oregon State in five games Sunday. The Trojans, are 2-2 in 5-setters this season. They have not been forced into a fifth game since last month, when they lost a home match against Washington. Earlier this season, Arizona defeated then-No. 6 Washington State but lost to unranked Washington two days later. Last month the Wildcats allowed Stanford to sweep them at home. Arizona has come up short at significant points in the season too many times to let this opportunity slip by. Look for a Wildcat win in five games.

ADVANTAGE

Arizona

15-11, 12-15, 15-8, 10-15, 15-9