The Arizona volleyball team (14-9, 6-8) will take on Oregon State tonight and No. 20 Oregon on Sunday, both in McKale Center.
Last month, the Wildcats split in Oregon by beating the Beavers and falling to the Ducks.
Oregon State is coming off of three consecutive wins, including an upset feat against Utah last weekend.
Head coach Dave Rubio wasn’t surprised by the upset; the Beavers have made significant improvement since their first meeting with the Wildcats.
“It doesn’t surprise me,” Rubio said. “We certainly can’t let our guard down when we play them.”
For both the Wildcats and the Beavers, postseason implications are on the line.
“They have a lot to play for,” he said. “I’m sure they still feel like they’re in a position for the playoffs, as we do.
“Tonight is a pivotal match for both of us,” Rubio added. “There’s a lot riding on the match for both programs.”
As for Oregon, the Ducks split last weekend, defeating Colorado but falling to Utah — it was the first time this season the Ducks lost to an opponent that the Beavers didn’t.
Rubio said his team has had a good week of practices and that the players are slowly but surely getting healthier.
Tonight’s match starts at 8 p.m. and Sunday’s will start at noon.
Arizona to retire Kim Glass’ jersey Arizona will retire former player Kim Glass’s jersey tonight during the Oregon State match. She is also being inducted into the UA Sports Hall of Fame.
“The only retired jerseys are the players of the year recipients, and she was the Freshman Player of the Year during her first year here,” Rubio said. “From now until infinity, her jersey will be hanging from the rafters at McKale. It’s quite an honor.”
Glass played outside hitter for Rubio from 2002 until 2006.
“She walked in my office yesterday and I hadn’t seen her since 2006 when she left,” Rubio said. “It was great to see her.”
Glass earned multiple accolades at Arizona and still holds a handful of records for the program, and even for the conference — she is still the only Pac-10 player to get double-digit kills in every match.
During her Wildcat career, she pummeled the kill record of 2,000, and established the current record of 2,151 kills. She also holds the record for service aces with 162 total.
Glass continued her volleyball career by joining the 2008 USA Olympic team in Beijing, where she helped the team win a silver medal.
By the numbers: Team leaders
Kills: Freshman Madison Kingdon with 250
Hitting percentage: Senior Cursty Jackson with .322
Digs: Sophomore Candace Nicholson with 291
Aces: Nicholson tied with senior Courtney Karst with 17
Assists: Freshman Chloe Mathis with 635
Blocks: Jackson with 75
