THIS WEEK: No. 14 Arizona opens Pac-10 play by playing host to the Oregon schools Thursday and Friday. The Cats have won five straight contests from Oregon State, but will be looking to avenge an upset five-game loss to Oregon in Tucson last Nov. 1. Head coach David Rubio will be after for his 250th career victory. His lifetime mark stands at 249-143 entering this weekend.

WILDCAT NOTES: The Cats rank second in the Pac-10 in blocks, and their 21 vs. Santa Clara (9/3) are a league season-high ... Arizona has won 22 straight matches in which in has won the first game ... Allison Napier set her career high in hitting percentage (.438) against San Diego State (9/10) ... The 3,874 people in attendance at the Arizona-Nebraska match (9/11) marked the sixth-largest crowd ever to see a Wildcat volleyball contest ... Marisa DaLee came within one dig of posting the 18th triple-double in Arizona history vs. Santa Clara (9/3), and her 11 block assists in that match tie her for third on the Cats' single-match list ... The Cats' sweep of No. 18 San Diego (9/4) was their first victory over a ranked opponent since a five-game win at home against No. 7 Southern California on Nov. 21, 1997, breaking a seven-match losing streak ... Shannon Torregrosa became the first Arizona freshman ever to post a double-double in her collegiate debut at UTEP (9/1) ... She is also only the fifth Wildcat freshman ever to start her first match under David Rubio ... The Cats' opening match at UTEP was the 200th of David Rubio's Arizona career ... Seven of the Cats' 1999 opponents were ranked in the AVCA preseason poll, including three of the top four: Stanford (No. 2); Nebraska (3); Hawaii (4); BYU (7); UCLA (10); San Diego (18); and USC (21) ... Arizona is third in the Pac-10 in league victories over the last three years with 34, trailing only Stanford (52) and USC (41).

DaLEE PASSES ALDRICH: Junior middle blocker Marisa DaLee passed the 1,000-attempt plateau for her career at Nebraska (9/11), qualifying her for Arizona's hitting percentage leaders list. Her career mark of .368 easily bests former teammate Erin Aldrich's (1996-97) previous standard of .300. Here are Arizona's career hitting percentage leaders:

        Player                  Years          Pct.
1.      Marisa DaLee            1997-99        .368
2.      Erin Aldrich            1996-97        .300
3.      Melissa McLinden        1982-85        .289
4.      Caren Kemner            1983-84        .256
5.      Stephanie Murry         1984-87        .248

HEAD COACH DAVID RUBIO: David Rubio (Cal State Northridge '82) is in his eighth season as head coach of the Cats and his 13th year overall. He is 129-78 (.623) with Arizona and 249-143 (.635) overall. He is one win shy of the 250 mark for his career.

JUNIOR NATIONALS: Sophomore Dana Burkholder and freshman Lisa Rutlege missed the Cats' first five matches representing the United States at the Junior World Games in Saskatoon and Edmonton, Canada, Aug. 28-Sept. 5. The U.S. qualified for the quarterfinals before being eliminated. Arizona was one of only two schools (Stanford) with two players on the US Junior National Team. Burkholder started each contest at setter.

SERIES NOTES
ARIZONA VS. OSU: The Cats and Beavers will be meeting for the 28th time, with Arizona leading the series, 17-10 ... In matches played in Tucson, Arizona leads, 10-3 ... The Cats are 17-9 vs. OSU in Pac-10 play, 10-3 at home ... Head coach David Rubio is 10-4 vs. the Beavers, 6-1 in Tucson.

Last Year vs. Oregon State
Date    Site    W/L     Results       Scores
11/1    H        W        3-0         15-8, 15-9, 15-8

ARIZONA VS. OREGON: The Cats and Ducks will be meeting for the 30th time, with Arizona leading the series, 21-8 ... In matches played in Tucson, Arizona leads, 9-4 ... The Cats are 18-8 vs. OU in Pac-10 play, 9-4 at home ... Head coach David Rubio is 12-2 vs. the Ducks, 6-1 in Tucson.

Last Year vs. Oregon
Date    Site    W/L     Results       Scores
10/30   H       L          2-3        8-15, 15-11, 12-15, 15-9, 13-15