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Wildcats split L.A. series despite shaky passing

Joshua D. Trujillo Arizona Daily Wildcat Freshman outside hitter Lisa Rutledge gets ready to bump the ball in a match earlier this season. Rutledge spearheaded the Wildcats to victory on Saturday at Southern Cal, earning the team a split of the weekend series against the Southern California schools.

In what head coach David Rubio called the biggest road trip of the year, the UA women's volleyball team split a pair of matches against UCLA and Southern Cal over the weekend.

The Wildcats were swept by No. 11 UCLA 15-4, 15-8 and 15-13 Friday night before rebounding to defeat No. 18 Southern Cal in four games on Saturday.

"UCLA just outplayed us on Friday night," Rubio said. "As bad as Friday's game was, Saturday was equally good for us."

UCLA's physical play dominated the Wildcats (9-3 overall, 3-1 Pacific 10 Conference) throughout the match as Bruin sophomore Kristee Porter recorded 23 kills and setter Erika Selsor had 54 assists.

"They're far and away the most physical team we've played all year," Rubio said. "We pride ourselves on playing tough volleyball, but they're the personification of physical volleyball."

The Wildcats failed to convert on numerous opportunities in the third game, leading to the sweep.

"We should have won the third game," Rubio said. "The passing throughout the game was just poor. By the time we started passing well again, it was too late."

The Wildcats were once again plagued by shoddy passing which has been a consistent problem throughout the early part of the season.

"Simply put, if we pass, we win," Rubio said. "Fundamentals such as passing can be our biggest problem if we don't play the game correctly."

Leading the Wildcats in the losing effort was sophomore setter Dana Burkholder, who had 37 assists.

The Wildcats, who have yet to lose two consecutive games all season, rebounded to defeat No. 18 Southern Cal on Saturday night, 15-10, 15-12, 15-3 and 15-13.

Freshman outside hitter Lisa Rutledge had a season-high 22 kills, the highest kill total by a Wildcat since Keisha Johnson Demps recorded 25 against Oregon in 1997. Rutledge also set season-highs in kill percentage (.463), digs (13) and blocks (3).

"In all my years as a head coach, I've never seen an outside hitter have such a match like that," Rubio said. "It seems like Lisa was in a world of her own out there."

Sophomore setter Dana Burkholder recorded a season-high 66 assists in the victory over the Trojans, while Jill Talbot, Marisa DaLee and Alison Napier all recorded double digits in kills as well.

"We knew we were good, but a win like this really helped us turn the corner," Rubio said. "To beat a ranked team on the road reaffirmed our confidence."

UA returns home Friday night, when they take on Arizona State at McKale Center at 7 p.m.

"The ASU game always has more meaning because they're the big rival," Rubio said, "If we can handle the ball well, we'll be set."