For the Arizona volleyball team, this weekend’s Arizona Desert Classic will be the last tournament before Pac-12 Conference play begins. The team will face UC Irvine at 10:30 a.m., Boise State at 7 p.m. and American University on Saturday at 10 p.m., all at McKale Center.

Head coach Dave Rubio said practices are still a source of frustration for the team. Rubio is planning on debuting the new 6-2 rotation system this weekend, which will thrust freshman setter Lauren Fuller into a starting position. The switch in scheme might be the reason for practice struggles.
“According to (Rubio) we’re very consistent at being inconsistent, so we’re not on a good foot,” sophomore middle blocker Rachel Rhoades said. “There’s a lot of new plays and a lot of new things to remember for our setters and our hitters and that can be really confusing, so we need even more time.”

Fuller, along with sophomore outside hitters Taylor Arizobal and Madi Kingdon, said practice is extra tough for them because the new rotation relies heavily on their abilities to perform on serve-receive. Junior Chanel Brown, the primary setter, will be joined by Fuller in the starting line-up for the first time.
“I think I’m ready, I just know I need to keep working harder in practice,” Fuller said. “The playing time and the pressure to stay in check is definitely motivation for me to put in the work.”
Opposites Shaquillah Torres and Halli Amaro join Arizobal and Kingdon at the net for the weekend.
“Whether or not, when we start playing, we’re comfortable enough and old enough to handle that system where it puts more responsibility on a couple of our players, is a big question mark,” Rubio said.

Rhoades said the added pressure is the reality check the team needs to step up during practices.
Coaches asked the squad to memorize new plays and ways of running the offense in a week’s worth of practices and its performance this weekend will be very telling of how the rotation will cater to the needs of the team.
“This weekend we are expecting to go 3-0,” Rhoades said. “We really need to be on top and on our ‘A’ game because we’ve already lost to schools we really shouldn’t have lost too.”