UA volleyball jumps back after loss to Oregon State

Nicholas Valenzuela Arizona Daily Wildcat UA sophomore middle blocker Marisa DaLee (12) spikes the ball past an Oregon State player. DaLee set a Pacific 10 record against OSU last night by having the fourth-highest hitting percentage in NCAA history.

DaLee, a sophomore middle blocker, hit .73 with 11 kills. The mark was good enough to become the fourth-highest percentage in NCAA history.

"I felt like every time I was going to get set, I was going to put the ball away," DaLee said.

Arizona (18-4, 9-4 third in the Pac-10) had its way with Oregon State, defeating the Beavers 15-8, 15-9, 15-8. The Ducks defeated Arizona 15-8, 11-15, 15-12, 9-15, 15-13 Friday. Oregon entered the match 7-16 on the season, 1-10 in the Pac-10.

"Friday was a different ballgame," UA head coach David Rubio said. "I knew Oregon was a team that's ready to turn the corner. Oregon, from the get-go, was very aggressive, and our passing was inconsistent."

Senior middle blocker Keisha Johnson Demps had the 17th triple-double in Arizona history with 13 kills, 15 digs and a career-high 12 blocks. DaLee hit .60 with 16 kills, while junior outside hitter Raelene Elam had a career-high and match-best 21 kills.

"That was one of my best games on Friday, but we still lost," DaLee said. "It was hard and disappointing. We can't take it back."

After losing to Stanford twice and Southern Cal once, the Wildcats could always make the excuse that they were supposed to lose to those teams. The same couldn't be said of Oregon.

"It was actually a step in the right direction," DaLee said. "It was good for us to get kicked in the butt."

Yesterday saw a much more relaxed Arizona team.

"This game worried me," Rubio said. "You never know how your team's going to respond in times of adversity. It was nice to see us start off well and be aggressive, and the players relaxed and played well throughout the match."

Elam had 11 kills, 12 digs and four service aces in the Arizona win. Freshman outside hitter Jill Talbot hit .50 with eight kills.

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