By Grace Wen
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Although Arizona State’s Terri Cox is only 5-feet, 7-inches
tall, the junior outside-hitter leads the nation in kills and digs
per game. It may be surprising to some that, as a shorter player,
her role on the team hasn’t been confined to the back row. Of
course, the fact that she owns a 30-inch vertical leap does
somewhat compensate for her lack of physical size.
UCLA will try to put the lid on Cox, who averages 6.15 kills and
5.23 digs per game. The UCLA women’s volleyball team travels to
Arizona this weekend hoping to extend their winning streak in the
Pacific 10. The 11th-ranked Bruins (11-3, 3-0 Pac 10) will play the
Arizona Wildcats (11-3, 2-2) Friday night in Tucson and travel to
Tempe on Saturday to take on the Sun Devils of Arizona State (7-3,
2-2).
UCLA head coach Andy Banachowski expects a challenge from both
of the Arizona schools.
"I think they’re going to be tough matches," Banachowski said.
"We’ve always been in for tough matches when we’ve gone down to
play in Arizona. Arizona might be a bigger, more physical team.
Maybe we match up better against them since we’re a big, physical
team too.
"Arizona State had our number last year. They probably play a
more defensive ball-control type of game which ended up being more
difficult for us."
Arizona State expects a tough match from UCLA as well.
"We’re progressing slowly but surely," Sun Devil head coach
Patti Snyder-Park said. "We’re a very young, rebuilding team. Right
now we don’t really have a whole lot of depth. Our strength is our
size in blocking. We’re blocking a lot more balls than we have in
the past. You certainly need that in the Pac-10 conference
race.
"If both teams pass well, then nobody is going to get a whole
lot of blocks because both teams have hitters that can put away in
one-on-one situations. They are a very big blocking and hitting
team."
Sparking the Sun Devil defense and offense is Cox, who has
already recorded 165 digs and 196 kills this year.
"She lacks the size of many of the outstanding players in the
Pac-10 but she makes up for it with tremendous effort and desire
and heart," Banachowski said. "She plays a lot bigger than she is
and she’s always played very well against us.
"We just hope that we can get our block on her. Be effective
with the block and pick up all the shots she’s got. She’s obviously
moving the ball around well, being real effective."
Snider-Park agrees. "Any time you can make a position switch
halfway through your career and play the different sides of the
court and then lead the nation in kills per game, I think it’s a
pretty admirable switch on her part," Snider-Park said. "She’s just
a fantastic athlete. I think she’s one of the Pac-10’s best
all-around players. She’s a big jumper, extremely quick. She’s very
efficient, a smart hitter."
Despite all the praise, Cox usually isn’t satisfied.
"I’m never happy with my game," Cox said. "I’ll have the best
game of my life and I’ll sit down and I’ll just remember the worst
play. I’ll never remember anything good.
"As a shorter player, a lot of girls are obviously taller. They
think, ‘Oh, she’s little, we’ll just block her, she’s little.’ And
sometimes I do get blocked and it’s just a stupid play. If it’s a
tight set, sometimes I’m going to get roofed once in awhile but
I’ve worked on my shots so much that I should be able to play
smarter and to place my shots better."
Even though she criticizes her own game, she’s always the first
to encourage her teammates.
"I try to be as positive as possible," Cox said. "You can’t sit
there and have an attitude or be negative. It puts the whole team
down."
She may be one of the smallest outside hitters in the Pac-10,
but Terri Cox can hold her own in every way.