Youth leads volleyball team to victory

Instead, SDSU showed the jitters on its home court, and UA earned a 15-6, 16-14, 18-16 sweep.

"We certainly were better than I envisioned us being," head coach David Rubio said. "Offensively, we were in a much better rhythm."

"It was definitely cleaner than expected," assistant coach Chris Lamb said. "I thought they came out with the jitters, but they played better in the last two games. We got the cheap points early that we had to work hard for later."

Sophomore left side hitter Allison Napier led Arizona with 18 kills, her career high. She also had a .412 hitting percentage with 9 digs.

"The intensity of the game helped a lot, because practicing every day was getting boring," Napier said.

"She was on fire," sophomore middle blocker Marisa DaLee said of Napier. "Everything was hitting the floor, and she was getting excited. She never gets excited."

Setter Dana Burkholder made her Arizona debut with 47 assists, and senior middle blocker Keisha Johnson Demps had 16 kills while hitting .355.

"Alli was awesome. She passed well and hit great," Lamb said. "Dana was solid, and Keisha was busy. She did a lot of work."

Their was never any question that the talent was there, but nerves and sloppy play often dominate a team's first match of the season. For a team with six freshman and a transfer, a case of the jitters was almost expected.

"A lot of us were surprised at how we were playing, and started to play even better because things started to flow," Johnson Demps said.

"We're impressed that they were so young and kept their composure," assistant coach Charita Johnson said. "It was an opportunity to get the jitters, but they held together."

"Alli did a great job stepping up and being a leader. She put the balls away that we needed her to."

This weekend, the Wildcats travel to Fort Collins, Colo., for the University Park Holiday Inn Classic, hosted by Colorado State. Also included in the field are Middle Tennessee State and Indiana.

"Any victory will give you confidence initially, but by no means do we think yesterday will make or break our season," Johnson said. "But we do feel good going into this weekend."

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