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Wildcats salvage tourney with win over San Diego

The 15th-ranked University of Arizona women's volleyball team knew they would be in for a rough weekend, but they didn't count on the upstart Sacramento State Hornets to come in and beat them on their own court.

After a three-game sweep of Kent State on Friday afternoon and a four-game victory over Santa Clara that night, the Wildcats entered Saturday's contest 2-0 in the Embassy Suites Wildcat Classic held at McKale Center with their toughest match yet to come.

Little did they know that it would be Sacramento State instead of the No. 18 San Diego Torreros.

The Wildcats scored just 6 points in the final two games against Sacramento State and lost 16-14, 14-16, 15-4 and 15-2.

"We were embarrassed," UA head coach David Rubio said. "When you roll over, it's especially sad. Not to take anything away from the Hornets, but we weren't at our best."

Junior middle blocker Marisa DaLee agreed with Rubio's statements.

"We woke up Saturday morning a little sore from Friday's game," she said. "We weren't prepared, we were awful."

After Saturday morning's debacle, Rubio issued a challenge to the players.

"I compared it to football's Penn State loss," Rubio said. "I told them that they had something to prove to themselves, that they had to play out of their minds to beat San Diego."

Rubio's challenge was taken to task by the Wildcats as they swept the Torreros 15-11, 15-9 and 15-12.

"We got out there in front of a home crowd, the adrenaline was pumping, and we did a great job," DaLee said. "It took the sting out of the Sacramento loss."

Freshman Shannon Torregrosa led all scorers with 16 kills and six blocks. The 6-footer from San Diego overcame some early overexertion to muscle the Wildcats to victory.

"She's so darn strong," DaLee said. "When she gets into a groove like she did tonight, she hits through people. She's unstoppable."

San Diego's first team All-American, Petia Yanchulova, was silenced in the match, eking out a mere .150 kill percentage.

"We really shut her down," DaLee said. "Coach scouted her, told us what to do, and we took care of her."

Despite a disappointing final match, Yanchulova was named the tournament's most valuable player. DaLee was the lone Wildcat on the All-Tournament team.