Dave Rubio is a straight shooter.
It doesn’t matter if his team is winning — like it did last weekend in the Wildcat Classic — or if it’s dropping a set or match.
Consider the longtime coach’s assessment of the UA women’s volleyball team’s offense heading into Thursday night’s Pac-12 opener against Arizona State. The Wildcats are 10-2, having won eight consecutive matches. But they’re not clicking — at least not every time out.
“I don’t have a lot of expectations as to where we should be. I just know we’re not close to being where we need to be,” he said. “I think some nights we are going to be really, really good, and other nights we’re going to be very mediocre with it. Some of it is dictated with our first contact skills. I think the players are now pretty comfortable with it. It’s just whether or not the location of the sets and the speed and tempo of the sets are going to be consistent.”
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The Wildcats rank third in the Pac-12 with a .286 hitting percentage. Senior middle blocker Devyn Cross is second in the NCAA with .511 mark, and Liz Shelton, a junior outside hitter, is hitting .329 with 106 kills. Shelton was named MVP of the Wildcat Classic after she hit .472 and averaged .367 kills per set.
The statistics are impressive, but they don’t tell the full story. Coaches found things to correct in last weekend’s home sweep.
“I thought we were very slow and kind of behind the play a lot. Made a lot of errors and (were) kind of our own worst enemy,” senior setter Julia Patterson said. “So I think we’re just going to learn from that and change our mindset going into Pac-12. Obviously, the teams we are playing are way more competitive and way more skilled and so knowing that, we have to all work together and get our minds right.”
Rubio knew the offensive shift would take some time. The new attack runs through Patterson, the setter. She admits that there have been some growing pains, and Rubio declared that the Wildcats need to pass better.
“Everything that I’ve ever known about setting has pretty much changed for the most part, in terms of decision-making,” Patterson said. “I really have to be more focused every day in practice and in every game than I guess I normally would. Because, it isn’t so much muscle memory to me, it’s definitely a lot more thinking. I guess I have to learn the nuances of the new offense.”
There will be less room for error than ever on Thursday, when the Wildcats attempt to continue a winning streak against ASU (8-3) that is two seasons long.
The Sun Devils boast one of the best defenses in the conference, led by Pac-12 leader Courtney Lefell who is averaging 5.11 digs per set.
What’s different about ASU?
“Boy, everything,” Rubio said. “ASU, they are basically a completely different team than they were last year. They are more physical than they have been since (coach) Sonja (Tomasevic) has taken over. And she’s done a nice job of rebuilding that program. It’s been a struggle the last couple of years for them, but she’s brought in a really good group of players and has some really good arms on the pins. Really physical, much more confident and older now. …
“Offensively, they are going to be a load to handle. Syracuse is probably the best offensive team we’ve played, and I think they are better than Syracuse. So it’s going to be a very competitive, tough match.”
Extra points
The Wildcats will fly to Los Angeles on Friday, and have one day to prepare for USC. Assistant coach
- Gregg Whitis has been scouting the Trojans.
Arizona’s eight-match winning streak is its longest entering Pac-12 action since the Wildcats went 11-0 to start the 2009 season.
Rubio on the balance in college volleyball: “On any given night … there is so much parity across the country that if your team and players aren’t emotionally invested and engaged in the match, then things can get out of hand pretty quick.”
