It’s home sweet home for Arizona volleyball this weekend. Well, hopefully.
The Wildcats host Oregon State University and the University of Oregon on Friday and Saturday, respectively, as Arizona looks to return to the winning ways they established at the beginning of the season.
After a mid-season, three game slide including losses at home to UCLA and on the road at the University of Washington and Washington State University, the No. 22 Wildcats (12-3, 1-3 Pacific 10 Conference) have to get back on track. And while the level of competition will remain at the constant high of the Pac-10, at least Arizona will play in the confines of its home court.
“”It’s always nice to be at home, but you want to come prepared to every game you go into,”” senior middle blocker Jacy Norton said.
Volleyball’s head coach Dave Rubio agreed.
“”Every week is going to be the week,”” Rubio said. “”They’re all going to be really good teams. You just know that you’ve got to try to be prepared the best you can be for that next match and right now you’re just hoping that we can get a little bit better.””
The Wildcats have had their wake-up call after three straight losses. The focus in practice this week was getting the attack back on track and realizing the importance of every ball.
“”We realized that we have to have urgency on the court instead of just brushing it off,”” sophomore outside hitter Dana Hutchinson said.
Against Oregon State, the Wildcats will have to make all their scoring chances count. While the Beavers (10-5, 1-2 Pac-10) are currently unranked nationally, they are coming off a win against No. 11 Oregon, snapping a six-match loss streak. Oregon State is also able to go toe-to-toe with Arizona in terms of firing power. The Beaver’s Rachel Rourke tied Wildcat junior outside hitter Tiffany Owens with this season’s conference-high of 29 kills in the Duck’s match against Oregon.
The No. 11 Oregon Ducks (11-2, 1-2 Pac-10) have also kept up with the conference this season. The Wildcats are looking to get back on track this weekend. They currently sit in fifth place in the conference, tied with Oregon State and California.
Arizona’s talent has never been in question, but the number of errors in their recent games has certainly been bringing down the productiveness of the offense. Regardless of whom they play, the Wildcats need to keep the scoring at a high rate to be successful.
“”You just have to be really consistent, get good attack lines,”” said Hutchinson about converting on scoring chances. “”Make sure you keep the ball in when it needs to be kept in, and swing for the hands when the game is on the line.””
