University of Arizona Athletics

A Look at the Cats: The Arizona volleyball team returns to McKale Center this weekend for its 2000 home opener, the 17th annual Wildcat Classic. Arizona will play host to New Mexico State, Baylor and Santa Clara in a two-day tournament Sept. 8-9. The 14th-ranked Cats went 2-1 in San Diego last weekend, falling in five games to then-14th-ranked UC Santa Barbara before defeating San Diego State 3-0 and San Diego 3-1.

A Look at the Aggies, Bears and Broncos: New Mexico State comes to Tucson sporting a 2-2 record. The Aggies defeated Lousiana Lafayette 3-1 and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 3-0 and fell to Oklahoma 3-2 and host school Lamar 3-1 at the Cardinal Classic in Beaumont, Texas, last weeekend. Three starters return from the 1999 Aggie team went 15-15 overall, 6-10 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Wildcats and the Aggies will meet for the first time since 1997, Arizona owns a 9-0 record in the all-time series ... The 19th-ranked Bears, 4-0, swept its way to victory last weekend at the Rice Tournmant in Houston, Texas. Baylor won all four matches in three games, defeating North Texas, Lousiana Tech, Texas-Pan American and Rice. Bear freshman Stevie Nicholas was named tournament MVP after hitting .379 in the four games. Baylor, a fifth place finisher in the Big 12 a season ago, returns five starters from a 26-9 team that advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Bears will take on SMU on Wednesday before heading to the Wildcat Classic. The Friday night game is the first ever meeting between the two schools ... Santa Clara, 2-0, is coming off a victory at the PowerBar Inivitational in Boulder Colo. The Broncos defeated host Colorado in five games to secure the inivitational win. Santa Clara senior Amy Kohl was named invitational MVP with her 27-kill performace in the championship game. The Broncos will head to Stockton to take on 11th-ranked Pacific on Tuesday before heading to Tucson. The Broncos finished the 1999 season with a 21-11 record, 10-4 in the West Coast Conference and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournment. The Cats hold a 2-0 series lead over the Broncos, with the last meeting coming in 1992.

Thrice as nice: Junior setter Dana Burkholder collected her second career triple-double Sept. 2 against San Diego. Her 10 kill, 54 assist, 10 dig performance was the 19th triple-double in Arizona history, and just the fifth by a Wildcat setter. Burkholder tallied her first triple-double a season ago in Arizona's five game loss to UCLA on Oct. 11 when she had a career-high 11 digs, 70 assists and 14 digs against the Bruins.

Sharp Shooters: Arizona's team hitting percentage of .483 in the three-game sweep at San Diego State Sept. 2 set a school record for accuracy. The Cats had 52 kills on 89 attempts while commiting only nine errors. The previous mark was held by the 1994 squad who hit .461 against California.

Keep it to a Minimum: San Diego State's 14 points in three games was the fourth lowest point total for an Arizona opponent in a three game match in school history. Cal State Fullerton mustered only 10 points in a 1983 meeting with the Cats.

Tournament Honors: Junior setter Dana Burkholder and senior middle blocker Marisa DaLee picked up all-tournament honors at SDSU's Diggin' It tournment Sept. 1-2. Burkholder tallied 151 assists in three matches, averaging 12.58 per game. DaLee finished the three match set hitting an impressive .471 with 52 kills. She set a career high with 24 kills against San Diego.

Movin' on Up: Senior middle blocker Marisa DaLee continues to improve her standing in the Arizona record book. The fifth-year Wildcat now ranks fourth on the career list in consecutive games played and is tied for sixth in 10+ kill matches. She is the all-time leader in hitting percentage, holds the top two single-season hitting percentage marks and also ranks in the top ten in career block assists and blocks and kills per game average.

Lending a hand: The second game of Arizona's match up with UC Santa Barbara marked the 200th career game for junior setter Dana Burkolder, qualifying the Bakersfield, Calif., native for the top spot on the Wildcat's career assists per game record list. Her 151 assists at SDSU's Diggin' It tournament leaves her just 36 short of fourth place on the career assists list.

Head Coach David Rubio: Entering his ninth year as the head coach for Arizona Volleyball, Coach Rubio has helped elevate the Wildcat program into a national power. Inheriting a team that went 4-26 and winless in the Pac-10 the season prior to his arival, he has gone on to average 18 wins a season and has had a winning conference record in six of the previous eight years. He has guided the Wildcats to three Sweet 16 appearances (1993, 1994, 1999) and ranks second all-time in wins with 146. Among Pac-10 coaches who have coached five or more season at their respective schools he ranks third in overall (.623) and conference (.535) winning percentage. Prior to his arival at Arizona he led CSU Baskerfield to the NCAA Division II national title in 1989.

Player Notes and Averages

#16 Lauren Benward * 6-0 * Jr. * S
Starts: 0 Games: 3
Ranks 10th on the Arizona career assists list with 301 ... Collected eight assists in three games at SDSU Diggin It tournament ... Set a career high in assists in 1999 with 51 against Sacramento State (9/4)

Pct.-   .000            KPG-    0.00            APG-    5.67
SAPG-   0.00            DPG-    0.00            BPG-    0.00

#21 Dana Burkholder * 5-8 * Jr. * S
Starts: 3 Games: 12
Starting setter ... recorded second career triple double on Sept. 2 with a 10 kill, 54 assist, 10 dig performance in Arizona's four game win over San Diego ... Arizona's all-time leader in assists per game, averaging 12.65 ... Fourth on Arizona's career assist list ... 1999 AVCA All-District 8 and All-Pac-10 honoree ... 1998 and '99 Junior National team member ... has started 57 career matches, 19th all-time at Arizona and most among current team members.

Pct.-   .333            KPG-    1.33            APG-    12.58
SAPG-   0.00            DPG-    2.00            BPG-    0.50

#3 Elvina Clark * 5-6 * Sr. * DS
Starts: 1 Games: 8
Primary defensive specialist ... had a career high 10 digs against Hawaii in 1999 ... redshirted in 1998 with a dislocated shoulder.

Pct.-   .000            KPG-    0.00            APG-    0.38
SAPG-   0.00            DPG-    1.12            BPG-    0.00

#12 Marisa DaLee * 6-3 * Sr. * MB
Starts: 2 Games: 12
Starting middle blocker ... had a career high 24 kills while hitting .500 (24-5-38) in Arizona's four game victory over San Diego (9/2) ... hit .586 (19-2-29) against 14th-ranked UC Santa Barbara (9/1) ... has appeared in 235 consecutive games, fourth-most in Arizona history ... has hit .400 or better an Arizona record 44 times ... holds top two spots on UA single-season hitting percentage list ... Became just the third Wildcat player to earn All-Pac-10 honors twice (1998 and '99) in a career.

Pct.-   .471            KPG-    4.33            APG-    0.17
SAPG-   0.00            DPG-    0.17            BPG-    0.67

#33 Christina Frost * 5-10 * R-Fr. * OH
Starts: 0 Games: 3
Redshirted in 1999 ... recorded first career kill in Arizona's three-game sweep of San Diego State.

Pct.-   .250            KPG-    0.33            APG-    0.00
SAPG-   0.00            DPG-    1.33            BPG-    0.00

#31 Cathy Garbacz * 6-1 * Fr. * OH
2000 Redshirt

#4 Linda McCullagh * 5-8 * So. * DS
Transferd from Oregon State where she did not particpate in volleyball ... will sit out 2000 season due to transfer rules.

#7 Allison Napier * 6-2 * Sr. * OH
Starts: 3 Games: 8
Hit .409 (11-2-22) against 14th-ranked UC Santa Barbara (9/1) ... has career high hitting percentage of .438 ... 1997 honorable mention Freshman All-Pac-10 selection.

Pct.-   .356            KPG-    2.75            APG-    0.25
SAPG-   0.00            DPG-    1.25            BPG-    0.38

#5 Lindsay Rogers * 6-2 * Fr. * MB
Earned first-team East Valley honors and second-team all-state her senior year at Mountain View High School in Phoenix.

#13 Lisa Rutledge * 6-2 * So. * OH
Starts: 3 Games: 12
Starting outside hitter ... hit .667 (13-1-18) at San Diego State (9/2), tied for ninth-best on Arizona's single-match list ... recorded double-doubles vs. San Diego (12 kills-14 digs) and UC Santa Barbara (10 kills-10 digs) ... 1999 Freshman All-Pac-10 and honorable mention All-Pac-10 honoree.

Pct.-   .262            KPG-    2.92            APG-    0.25
SAPG-   0.08            DPG-    2.42            BPG-    0.83

#10 Stefani Saragosa * 6-2 * So. * MB
Starts: 2 Games: 11
Tied a career high seven block assists against UC Santa Barbara while hitting .312 (7-2-16) ... hit .833 (5-0-6) in two games at San Diego State ... 1999 honorable mention Freshman All-Pac-10 honoree.

Pct.-   .317            KPG-    1.55            APG-    0.09
SAPG-   0.18            DPG-    1.27            BPG-    1.18

#2 Erin Sebbas * 6-2 * Jr. * MB
Starts: 0 Games: 2
Hit .500 (3-0-6) and recorded five blocks in one game at San Diego State ... 1999 honorable mention Academic All-Pac-10 honoree.

Pct.-   .500            KPG-    1.50            APG-    0.00
SAPG-   0.00            DPG-    0.00            BPG-    2.50

#32 Jill Talbot * 6-0 * Jr. * OH
Starts: 3 Games: 12
Hit .556 (11-1-18) with seven digs vs. UC Santa Barbara ... recorded a double-double (11 kills-11 digs) vs. San Diego ... hit .417 (6-1-12) in three-game sweep of San Diego State ... leads team with seven service aces.

Pct.-   .400            KPG-    2.33            APG-    0.75
SAPG-   0.58            DPG-    1.83            BPG-    0.50

#18 Shannon Torregrosa * 6-2 * So. * OH
Starts: 0 Games: 8
Hit .727 (9-1-11) at San Diego State ... had 10 kills vs. San Diego ... Was just the fifth freshman to start her first career match under head coach David Rubio in 1999.

Pct.-   .196            KPG-    2.38            APG-    0.38
SAPG-   0.12            DPG-    1.38            BPG-    0.25

#1 Rachel Williams * 5-5 * So. * DS
Starts: 1 Games: 12
Fourth on team with 14 digs ... has three service aces, second for Arizona.

Pct.-   .000            KPG-    0.00            APG-    0.17
SAPG-   0.25            DPG-    1.17            BPG-    0.00