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On the verge of greatness

Volleyball team battled early season miscues, reached

Of all the teams on campus that will be competing for a national title next season, the UA women's volleyball team may have the best odds.

The Wildcats finished with their best ever Pacific 10 Conference record and lose only one player - senior Raelene Elam - to graduation. After making it to the Sweet 16 last season, there is no telling just how good the team will be this fall.

With an experienced core of veterans and an abundance of talented young players, the team should make national headlines in the fall.

"We're going to be ranked pretty high in the preseason based on how we finished last year," UA head coach David Rubio said. "We're excited about the possibility of having a good year. This year, we had a deep team with lots of experience."

The 1999 Wildcats were led by two of the nation's elite players - junior middle blocker Marisa DaLee and sophomore setter Dana Burkholder.

DaLee helped lead the Wildcats to a 2.9 block average per game, which ranked 22nd in the nation. DaLee was named to the All-Pacific 10 Conference team for the second year in a row, joining Barb Bell (1993, 1995-96) and Terry Lauchner (1988-89) as the only UA players in history to do so.

DaLee is seen throughout volleyball circles as a player with raw, often inconsistent talent, though, according to Rubio, her best days may still be ahead of her.

"She had a great spring this year and has improved significantly," he said. "She's developed into a great passer."

Her natural talent is easily noticed, as DaLee jumped as high as 10-feet, 3 1/2 inches in the spring.

"That may be a record," Rubio said. "She's certainly going to be a dominant force."

If DaLee is the raw talent, then Burkholder is the honed talent. The 5-foot-7 setter from Bakersfield, Calif., has sprinted to the forefront of national attention due to her talent and fiery leadership on the court.

"Dana's always been considered a great player," Rubio said. "The thing that Dana did is became a solid trainer in the gym. As result, she has become better in ability to deliver the ball."

Burkholder, who led the Wildcats with 12.89 assists per game, joined DaLee as a first team All Pac-10 selection and as a member of the All-District 8 team.

In being named to the elite 12-person team, both DaLee and Burkholder became the first Wildcats to achieve such an honor since current assistant coach Charita Johnson did so in 1994.

"(The awards) say that we're recruiting some high-level talent," Rubio said. "Between Lisa (Rutledge), Shannon (Torregrosa) and Stefani (Saragosa), our level of recruits have stepped up."

The 1999 season had its share of ups and downs for Rubio's young team.

Despite early season losses to Arizona State and Southern Cal at home, the Wildcats rebounded to finish with a 12-6 conference mark, matching the best such record in program history. In the NCAA Tournament, the Wildcats shocked the volleyball community in upsetting Texas before losing to Pac-10 Champion Stanford in four games.

Following the season, DaLee was encouraged by the team's ability to produce at the end of the tournament.

"Beating Texas made us believe," she said. "Finally beating a team ranked higher than us was great."

According to Rubio, the team's ability to deal with adversity early in the season led to the post-season accomplishments.

"We hit a stretch when we lost to Hawaii, BYU, USC and UCLA," Rubio said. "It was tough for us to maintain confidence and direction. We managed to work through those times, and that helped us in how we finished during the postseason"

Johnson agreed.

"During the season, we had some losing streaks," she said. "After beating Texas, nobody thinks we have to play flawless (volleyball)."

Losing Elam, though, will definitely be a challenge that the Wildcats will have to overcome.

"You can't measure the importance that Raelene's had to this team," Rubio said. "She was a great passer and defender, not to mention an super emotional leader. She had the kind of season that you would expect to have from a senior."

Two current freshmen - outside hitters Stefani Saragosa and Shannon Torregrosa - have the talent to replace the popular Elam, according to Rubio.

"At the same time, someone has to come in and fill in (Elam's) shoes," he said. "We have players, Stefani (Saragosa), Lisa (Rutledge) and Shannon (Torregrosa), that can come in and produce".

Combine the young talent with the experience of Burkholder, DaLee, and senior middle blocker Alison Napier and the volleyball team seems to be in excellent shape for the upcoming season.

"The next couple of years, we'll have a chance to see what kind of coach I am," Rubio said. "There's enough talent here to achieve."

Following the team's elimination from the NCAA Tournament, Rutledge was optimistic about the team's future chances.

"We're hoping for the Final Four next season," she said. "Definitely."

Ryan Finley can be reached at sports@wildcat.arizona.edu.