Team performance? Check. Individual performance? Check.
The No. 18 Arizona volleyball team (3-0) opened its season in dominating fashion over the weekend, beating Siena (30-21, 30-25, 30-27) and Northern Colorado (30-15, 30-15, 30-18) Friday and San Francisco (32-30, 30-25, 24-30, 30-25) Saturday en route to winning the Four Points Sheraton Arizona Invitational in McKale Center.
San Francisco finished the tournament with a 2-1 record, while Northern Colorado finished 1-2 and Siena (0-3) failed to win a game, let alone a match.
Sophomore outside hitter Brooke Buringrud was named the tournament’s MVP, as she averaged 3.1 kills, 2.8 digs, and 0.7 service aces. Freshman Whitney Dosty (3.5 kills, 0.9 digs, 0.8 blocks) and junior Dominique Lamb (2.2 kills, 1.6 blocks, 0.5 digs) were also named to the All-Tournament team.
“”Whitney Dosty has delivered pretty big in some pretty big moments,”” UA head coach Dave Rubio said of his freshman outside hitter. “”She wasn’t fearful, she wasn’t timid. She was up there swinging.””
Added Dosty: “”I think I did OK. Some of the things I could have done better. I think I need to work more on my passing and my serve receives.””
Despite winning all three matches, Rubio said there is much room for improvement as his team progresses in its schedule.
“”I think we showed the characteristics of a young team,”” Rubio said. “”In the conference we play in, we’re not going to be able to get away with some of things we were able to tonight.””
Against San Francisco, the Wildcats came out sloppy and quickly found themselves in a 9-1 hole. Despite a charge that gave them a 12-10 lead, the Arizona found itself looking up at the Dons once again, 27-24, before evening the score again.
That’s when Buringrud gave her team the lead for good, slamming the game to the Wildcats.
“”I think it shows a lot about our team and our character,”” Buringrud said of battling back. “”We fight hard, are very competitive. It is good to see our team come together and fight through something like that.””
But Rubio still couldn’t lose sight of his team’s sloppy play.
“”The way we played today was certainly the sign of a young team, and we can’t afford to be a young team,”” Rubio said. “”Our passing broke down today, we made a lot of unforced errors.
“”I think there is an evolution to every young team. You have to teach them and nurture them on the way.””
Still, Rubio was pleased with the weekend’s wins.
“”The fact that we fought at the end and won was great,”” Rubio said. “”It was really nice to show some character, be resilient and fight back to win a close game.””
