Fans of Arizona Wildcats volleyball will definitely need a roster sheet this season to follow along.
The Wildcats will take on New Mexico State in an exhibition on Saturday with nine new players, plus two who redshirted last season. Learn their numbers, because you won’t be able to see their faces.
The Wildcats will wear masks in matches all season to combat the coronavirus pandemic. The Pac-12’s medical leaders voted unanimously for the league to don the face coverings for the entire 22-match schedule.
UA coach Dave Rubio was on board with the idea from the start.
“My hope (is) that at the end of the season, we’re going to look back and see that was a good decision,” Rubio said. “If we were not to wear masks, we would continue to be in a high-risk category, which means that we’re going to be tested every single day. If we wore masks, that means that we went to an intermediate risk, which means that we didn’t have to get tested as often.
“I think this was a fairly controversial decision, but the medical people voted 12-0 that volleyball should wear masks during this season. I was on board with that simply because I felt like that was going to be the best opportunity for us to get all the matches in — (or) as many matches as we possibly could. … I was probably one of the few people who voted to wear the mask.”
Arizona’s conference-only schedule has yet to be released, though the UA plans to open its season next weekend. Rubio is excited to finally play after the fall season was moved to January. Consider Saturday’s 2 p.m. exhibition a dress rehearsal.
“The players are going to be nervous, which is good. We haven’t played an opponent in so long — it’s going to be nice to see somebody on the other side of the net that is different than wearing our own practice jersey,” Rubio said.
The delayed season gave the newest Wildcats time to learn Rubio’s offense. And while the coach says his system is easily understood, “the execution of the system is much, much more difficult, especially for the setters,” he said. “It’s also very difficult for the setters in the middle is because of how much we asked them to move and recognize. It’s just going to be a work in progress. For those guys, it’s not going to be very smooth and the beginning. But I think with time, it would be really good and advantageous for us. It is something that requires a lot of work — a lot of practice, a lot of repetition.”
The Wildcats have two distinct goals as the season opens: To finish in the upper half of a tough Pac-12 Conference and make the NCAA Tournament, which they haven’t done since 2018.
Their success will depend on how things unfold with the pandemic, how many matches get played and the criteria the NCAA uses to select the 16 at-large bids for the tournament. This year’s NCAAs will feature 48 teams instead of the usual 64.
The Wildcats have been holding two-a-day practices over the last week. Rubio said he’s been impressed by the team’s progress during that time. He even said practice now feels “normal,” like a regular fall gearing up for the season.
Arizona’s returnees — senior Paige Whipple, sophomore Kamaile Hiapo and juniors Zyonna Fellows and Malina Kalei Ua — are taking the changes in stride.
Rubio said Whipple and Hiapo bring the same level of “consistency, and I think the same level of eliteness.” The rest is still up in the air.
“Learning how to play together in some type of unity has been maybe the biggest challenge,” Rubio said. “Everyone comes from a different style and different background, and trying to get everyone together has been hard. It’s a difficult process and a work in progress. But I really liked this team. I have to tell you that I enjoy coaching them.
“Every day I walk into the gym I feel like they bought in to me as a coach, which is what you’re always hoping for. I can push them as hard as I want without complaint that comes from the leadership from Paige and Kamaile, and the other players.
“They’re not complaining about it. I think the long-term prospects are really, really good. I think that the individual players are developing.”
