The Arizona volleyball team unofficially kicked off its season yesterday when it held its annual Red-Blue Game in McKale Center.

The Red team dominated the Blue team 4-0, with scores of 30-18, 30-23, 30-26 and 30-26.

The Red team was composed mainly of starters and key players, while the Blue team was made up of backup players and assistant coaches Chris Gonzalez and Allison Napier.

“”The A-side was pretty steady,”” UA head coach Dave Rubio said of the Red team. “”They did what we were expecting them to do, but you never know what’s going to happen when you turn the lights on in the big house.””

Rubio switched around the teams quite a bit, in large part because of the health of sophomore outside hitter Whitney Dosty.

The 6-foot-3 Tucson native tore a medial collateral ligament in her right knee last month while practicing with the USA Junior National Volleyball Team in Thailand. Her health is up to “”about 70 percent,”” Rubio said, and the coaching staff is not sure if Dosty will be cleared to play in the team’s first match Friday.

“”We don’t know if she’ll be here next weekend,”” Rubio said, “”so we needed to play around with the kids who we know will be here full time.””

Rubio played with different lineup combinations, moving setters Paige Weber and Amy Dyck, libero Brittany Leonard, and outside hitter Alanna Resch around between the two teams.

Dosty played for the Blue team for game one, as she had two kills in five attempts and a dig.

She was then switched to the Red team for the next two games, compiling six kills in 17 attempts and two digs, before sitting out the last game.

Though she wore a brace over her right knee, Rubio said Dosty told him the pain there is gone. Rather, she has developed a case of tendonitis in her left knee because she has been favoring the right one, he said.

“”Right now we’re taking it one day at a time, and hopefully she’ll be ready to play on Friday,”” Rubio said.

Junior opposite hitter Randy Goodenough led all players with 14 kills over the four games. Freshman Tiffany Owens added 10 kills and five blocks.

“”I feel pretty good about where we are,”” Rubio said. “”We just have to keep getting better. I think a lot of our maturation will come in how we handle the real competitive times in a match. It’s tough for the kids to get the intensity and motivation in practice that they do in games.””

Extra Serving

Kara Bauman, who was a middle blocker on last year’s team but did not play, was in attendance for the exhibition game.