After an unsuccessful weekend in Hawaii, the women’s volleyball team looks to rebound this weekend at home in the Wildcat Classic.
The tournament begins Friday at 10 a.m. with Pepperdine facing Southern Methodist University. Following that game, Arizona will host Alabama State at noon.
Before they face Alabama State on Friday, Arizona will have a chance to do some scouting at the Pepperdine-SMU game for its upcoming matches. The Wildcats play SMU on Friday at 7 p.m. and Pepperdine on Saturday at 6 p.m.
Arizona’s first opponent, the Alabama State Hornets, are an inexperienced team with only seven players returning from last season. With 10 new athletes, four of which are freshman, Alabama State has a record of 1-3 after hosting the ISTAP Collegiate Cup 1 last weekend.
SMU should be the toughest opponent in the Wildcat Classic for Arizona. The standing AAC campions are coming into the tournament with a 2-1 record. Their wins came against Montana and Little Rock, both sets of which they swept.
SMU’s junior opposite hitter Katie Hegarty is coming off a career high 23-kill match against Little Rock last weekend, earning all-tournament honors. It’ll be the redshirt junior McKenzie Jacobson’s big block that Arizona will rely on to shut down Hegarty.
Pepperdine has a 2-1 record following their home tournament last weekend. The Waves are a young team who can find a way to win, so finishing strong is going to be a key focus for Arizona in this match.
Although Arizona is still seeking its first win of the season, many positives came from the weekend in Hawaii that should translate to success in the Wildcat Classic.
Against No. 4 Wisconsin and No. 6 Hawaii, Arizona dominated early but couldn’t close out the matches. The Wildcats showed their talent by out-blocking and out-hitting their top 10 opponents last weekend, but service and receiving errors contributed to their losses.
Arizona has the advantage going into this tournament, having faced the toughest opponents of all the teams so far. With their experience and home court advantage, the Wildcats are in a good position for Friday and Saturday.
Look out for the seniors Kalei Mau and Penina Snuka, who are coming off dominant performances against Hawaii. Kalei had 21 kills against the Rainbow Warriors and Snuka had 45 assists.
Follow Nikki Baim on Twitter
