Schedule leaves time for volleyball, sightseeing

Nicholas Valenzuela Arizona Daily Wildcat UA outside hitter, Allison Napier (7), hits the ball during a match against Stanford Sept. 25. The Wildcats, who have only spent two weekends at home, won both games on the road this weekend.

The day off has its advantages and disadvantages, but the Arizona volleyball team is adjusting well to the change.

"There aren't as many distractions on the road as there are at home," head coach David Rubio said. "We've felt that, on the road, we get more things done."

Arizona has taken weekend trips to Fort Collins, Colo., Washington and this weekend at Oregon, spending only two weekends at home so far this season.

On the road, the team has to keep itself busy and entertained. Sitting around all day Saturday tends to have an adverse effect on the team's performance.

Rubio cited this for a poor start against Washington. The Wildcats dropped the first set and swept the final three.

"The players were on the plane home before the match even started," he said.

A comparable advantage is that there is an extra day to prepare for your next opponent, so the coaches occupy some of the free time with scouting reports and game films.

"I've always felt that if you preached being on the road as a strength, in a way you're together more and more focused," Lamb said.

For example, the team left for Washington State (Pullman, Wash.,) two weekends ago on Thursday at 11:05 a.m. They defeated the Cougars Friday night, and flew to Seattle at 10:30 the next morning. They defeated Washington Sunday afternoon, but didn't leave for Tucson until almost 10 that night.

"When we get home at 2 in the morning, the players are dragging all day Monday," Rubio said. "We give them that day off, to get away from each other and volleyball."

A positive about road trips is that the players get to spend time together off the court, something they don't get to do that often at home."

The players often go out around the town with the day off.

"We try to get out and see the sights on Saturday," assistant coach Chris Lamb said. "The girls do schoolwork in the morning, then we practice, then they do more schoolwork. When that's done, we can go see something."

All that time together is seen by the team as a positive thing.

"Any good time we can spend together is good," sophomore Allison Napier said. "We go see the town, go to a movie and we always go shopping. It's fun."

Her fellow teammate, sophomore Marisa DaLee agreed.

"The movies, the mall, anything to get us out of the rooms," sophomore Marisa DaLee says. "That's our favorite thing, shopping. In California, we get to go to the beach, and that's great because not everybody gets to see those things."

For this weekend, the team flew to Portland yesterday, then drive south to Corvallis to prepare for the Oregon State match. They leave for Eugene, home of the Ducks, immediately following tonight's match.

"It's better to be in Eugene, which is a bigger town," Rubio said. "Corvallis is a real hole in the wall, and there's not much to do there."

No matter where they spend Saturdays, the players and coaches have difficulty sitting through the day and focusing on Sunday's match.

"I don't really like Saturdays," DaLee said. "It's hard being away from home, but it's good because you don't have to prepare for both teams at once."

"The most difficult thing for me on the Washington trip was sitting around all day in a hotel," Napier said. "We try to do something to get the blood moving."

Arizona seems to be figuring out how to handle these lengthy road trips, as they are a perfect 6-0 on the road and 2-0 at neutral sites after beating Oregon and Oregon State this weekend in Oregon.

Bryan Rosenbaum can be reached via e-mail at Bryan.Rosenbaum@wildcat.arizona.edu.