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Great expectations

Arizona Summer Wildcat

DaLee and Burkholder lead talented, young team

Look close enough and it's possible to see targets on the back of Arizona's volleyball jerseys.

The 2000 Wildcat women's volleyball squad, coming off its best-ever finish in the Pacific 10 Conference, will return to the hardwood this season as a marked team.

"People are looking out for us," senior middle blocker Marisa DaLee said. "It's different than last year."

With a wealth of talent and the departure of only one starter from last season's squad, the Wildcats are getting noticed.

"It's an exciting time for Arizona volleyball," UA head coach David Rubio said. "We only lost one starter, have good depth and some experience. Our players have all worked their butts off and are in great shape. This program can go places it's never gone before."

To succeed, the Wildcats will likely rely on the same tandem - junior Dana Burkholder and DaLee - that worked for the 1999 squad.

Burkholder, a 5-foot-7 setter from Bakersfield, Calif., led the Wildcats with a 12.87 assists-per-game mark last season and was named to the All-Pac-10 first team. As the team's floor leader, the junior is admired by her teammates for her on-court intensity.

"Dana's our biggest leader," sophomore outside hitter Lisa Rutledge said. "She does it all."

DaLee, a 6-foot-3 junior from Phoenix, led the Wildcats with a 2.9 block-per-game average in 1999, good for 22nd overall in the nation.

She also joined Burkholder in being named to the All-Pac-10 first team as well as being an All-District 8 selection.

DaLee admits that she needs to improve her leadership ability more than anything else, though.

"I need to be more of a leader," DaLee said. "Dave (Rubio) has been working with me since day one."

There may be no better example of intensity than Rubio, a former college setter at Cal State Northride.

"He's so animated," DaLee said. "He brings us out of our comfort zones and gets it all out of us."

Rutledge agreed.

"He gets us fired up," she said. "When he believes in us, we believe."

DaLee and Burkholder are joined by juniors Jill Talbot, Erin Sebbas and senior Alison Napier.

Talbot, who led the Wildcats in both service aces and aces per game, is a fierce competitor and helps to keep her teammates focused.

"She's got that attitude," DaLee said. "(She's) intense."

Napier, whose 586 career kills is good for 20th in team history, will likely compete for playing time with sophomore Shannon Torregrosa, while Sebbas will probably back up DaLee throughout the season.

The veterans will be joined by a talented but young group teammates in 2000. Torregrosa and sophomore Lisa Rutledge will contribute significantly on the outside, while injury-prone sophomore middle blocker Stefani Saragosa will look to overcome shin problems and return to form by the season's advent. Saragosa was unable to jump all spring due to injury and could be upended by Sebbas during the summer.

While some believe that Arizona has the talent to win the national championship, the team would rather play volleyball than attempt to predict the future.

"Expectations are definitely higher," Burkholder said. "(But) they're not really expectations. We don't want to put any added pressure on ourselves."

If the young Wildcats can clear mental hurdles throughout the season, Arizona could surprise some teams.

"Mentally, we need to be feeling that we can beat any team in Division I," Rutledge said.

With that attitude, the hunted Wildcats will hope to become hunters starting in the fall.