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Volleyball Ousted By No. 19 Arizona
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Dec. 4, 1999
AUSTIN, Texas — The No. 19 University of Arizona volleyball team rolled to a3-0 (15-8, 15-6, 15-12) victory over Virginia in a first-round match of the1999 NCAA National Championship Tournament at Gregory Gymnasium Thursdayevening.
The Wildcats hit .389 as a team, led by the efforts of Raelene Elamwho recorded a match-high 17 kills and .536 hitting efficiency. Arizona(20-10) will face the winner of Thursdays other first-round contest Texas vs.Houston Friday at 7:00 p.m. to determine which school will advance to thePacific Regional to be contested next weekend.
Marisa DaLee had 14 kills and a .478 hitting percentage, and Lisa Rutledge 16kills and a .286 efficiency to lead the Arizona offensive attack. Jill Talbotkeyed the defensive effort with a match-high 13 digs, while Dana Burkholderadded 12 digs and 50 assists.
Virginia, which managed a .242 team hitting percentage, was led by DeannaZwarich’s 13 kills (.294). The Cavaliers finished the season with a 19-12record. UVA setter Mary Frances Scott concluded her career 10th all timeon theNCAA career assists list with 6,044 after handing out 34 on the evening.
Game one saw the Wildcats break a 5-5 tie by rolling off nine straight pointsen route to a 15-8 victory. Arizona, led by eight kills apiece from Rutledge(.538) and DaLee (.429), compiled a .358 team hitting percentage while holdingVirginia to a .216 efficiency.
Virginia grabbed a 5-4 lead on a WhitneyBilgerkill before Stefani Saragos served the Wildcats to five consecutivepoints, twocoming on DaLee kills, to give Arizona a sizeable 10-5 advantage. RaeleneElamserved the Cats to four more points thanks to a kill and two blocks by DaLeeto put the game away.
Arizona led from wire-to-wire in game two and registered a 15-6 triumph. TheWildcats scored 12 of the first 14 points thanks again to Rutledge who nettedsix kills in 12 swings, along with an almost perfect performance from Elam whoput down six kills in eight attempts with no errors. Arizona posted aneye-popping .576 hitting percentage in the second frame. The Cavaliers, whohit .207 in the second set, got three kills apiece from Andrea Fischer andJessica Parsons.
Virginia put forth its best effort in game three and appeared to be on its wayto the win after consecutive blocks by Scott and Zwarich put the Cavaliers ontop 12-10. Arizona sided out with a Elam kill, and a Virginia error, coupledwith a Jill Talbot kill, knotted the score at 12-12. Saragosa then put twopoints on the board herself, scoring on a block and a kill to send theWildcatsto game point. The teams exchanged a pair of side outs before Elam slammeddown her 17th kill of the night to secure the Arizona win.