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ASU coach refuses to back down

The Arizona - Arizona State rivalry is very much alive and kicking.

After Friday night's loss to ASU, sophomore setter Dana Burkholder voiced her displeasure with Sun Devils' head coach Patti Snyder-Park.

Earlier in the week in an interview with "The Arizona Republic," Snyder-Park questioned the Wildcats' team chemistry and desire.

"She said some things in the paper that were just not true," Burkholder said. "I mean, we're both from Arizona. I know there is a rivalry, but we should be able to be classy about it. I think we deserve an apology."

Snyder-Park refused to back down.

"They made a lot of mistakes," she said. "We won the match because they couldn't serve or pass. Heck, maybe we'll start a new winning streak against the UA."

Junior Marisa DaLee led the Wildcats with 17 kills and three blocks against ASU Friday. Surprisingly, DaLee, who hails from Phoenix, was not recruited by the Sun Devils.

"She was really raw coming out of high school," Snyder-Park said. "But we're really impressed with the way she's coming along since she hit campus."

DaLee, who is admittedly still learning the game, was an All Pacific-10 Conference selection last season.

"I'm surprised with her abilities, how she's playing the whole court, everything," Snyder-Park said.

Friday night's loss was partially blamed on a perceived lack of focus by some Wildcats.

"The reality is, if nobody shows up, we lose," UA head coach David Rubio said. "Some people just were not as focused as a coach would like them to be. We just couldn't wake up."

Burkholder was a little more blunt.

"I'm just frustrated with the team's lack of focus," she said. "We're not playing poorly, we're just doing really stupid things. That's what's so damn frustrating."

Service errors and poor passing plagued the team the entire match. The Wildcats' 13 service errors, nine of them coming in the second game, were a season high. Many of these errors came with the game tied 10-10 and 12-12.

"I feel like I need to get the team out of trouble when the game is 15-15. I guess I'm just really intense," Burkholder said. "When the game's 15-15 and we need points, people need to step up. I don't see that happening."