WSU Takes Down Arizona While Building Up Character

Cindy Fredrick and the Washington State volleyball team finally put the character issue to rest.

“My players said they weren’t concerned, but I was a tad worried,” Fredrick said Friday night, savoring her team’s first come-from-behind victory of the season. “We usually win-win-win or lose-lose-lose.

“This was our first four-game match, so that’s rather monumental.”

By beating unranked and slumping Arizona 12-15, 15-6, 15-7, 15-7 before 1,608 in Bohler Gym, the Cougars proved they could overcome what had often been a troublesome opponent - themselves.

“I think that shows that we’re growing up a little,” said middle blocker Sarah Silvernail, who pounded 24 kills while hitting .500.

WSU, looking for a boost in the polls after slipping from No. 6 to No. 13 in recent weeks, improved to 14-4 overall and 5-3 in the Pacific-10 Conference. Arizona (12-6, 3-5) lost its third straight, spoiling Barb Bell’s record-setting night.

With her 12th kill, Bell became the Wildcats’ all-time leader. She finished with 15, matching Erin Aldrich for the team lead.

Bell has 1,640 career kills - three more than Terry Lauchner - but the record did little to appease Arizona coach David Rubio.

“I gotta question my team’s heart,” Rubio said. “We played good with the lead but just folded when things got tough.”

That would have been early in the second game.

With Jennifer Stinson serving and Silvernail playing enforcer up front, the Cougars reeled off eight consecutive points for a 9-1 lead.

“That combination works all the time,” said WSU’s Elise Arias, who led a supporting cast that included Stephanie Papke, Jennifer Canevari and Keren Oigman.

Arizona had a chance in the third game, tying it 7-7, but WSU broke the Wildcats’ spirit by scoring the next eight points. Canevari played a critical role in the final sequence, making it 14-7 with a kill before serving out the final point.

The momentum carried into the final game, which Arias helped define.

WSU led 6-2 when Arias took over, serving during five consecutive points. She made three big plays on the first point of the rally, following an effective serve with the critical dig - before coming up with an emphatic kill.

“Anything I can do,” Arias joked.

In other matches

Eastern Washington snapped a five-game losing streak with a 14-16, 15-7, 15-3, 15-3 Big Sky victory over Portland State (9-12, 1-7) at Cheney. The Eagles’ (8-9, 3-5) Kim Exner accounted for 22 kills. Lora Botha had 10 blocks and Tiffany Schwinn contributed 10 digs. … San Francisco (5-12, 1-3) earned its first West Coast Conference victory of the season at the expense of visiting Gonzaga University 15-7, 15-9, 6-15, 15-7. GU, led by Jennifer Kubista’s match-high 23 kills and .304 hitting, dipped to 8-14, 1-4. … At Salem, Ore., Whitworth took on Willamette, the NCIC’s best, and fell 15-10, 15-6, 15-2. The loss dropped the Pirates to 5-15, 2-7. The Bearcats, ranked 15th in the NAIA Division II poll, improved to 19-3, 9-0.

On the soccer field

Gonzaga University keeper Josh Fouts, already the school’s single-season shutout leader, had four saves for his fifth shutout of the season to lead the Bulldogs to a 3-0 upset win over 21st-ranked Santa Clara University at Martin Field. Simeon Enemuo, Shaun Flanigan and Jeff McAllister scored first-half goals for the Bulldogs, who improved to 8-4-1, 1-1-0. The eight wins are the most by the Bulldogs since the 1990 club went 9-6-2. Santa Clara (5-3-3, 2-1-0) came into the match atop the West Coast Conference standings with six points. … At Pullman, the Cougar women defeated their second Top 20 team, beating No. 16 California 1-0. Lynette Dickerson came off the bench in the second half to score the game-winner, her first goal of the year. WSU improved to 5-4-1, 2-1 in the Pac-10. Cal dropped to 9-2-1, 3-1. WSU’s Jessica Glazer has not allowed a goal in 329 minutes.

, DataTimes