Arizona volleyball ended the weekend on a good note with a match win against the University of Colorado.
The Wildcats got off to a hot start as they took the first set against Colorado 25-17. They then dropped the second set 19-25, which fueled them to win the next two sets 25-18 and 32-30.
Set 1 (25-17)
Sophomore outside hitter Sofia Maldonado Diaz was heating up in the first set with five kills and had two service aces. Two of those five came early in the set to extend the Wildcats lead 11-9. Junior libero Kamaile Hiapo was a huge factor as well with not only her defense but putting up two service aces to extend the lead at the midpoint of the set 16-11. From there, the Cats were on a roll to take the first set 25-17.
Set 2 (19-25)
The Wildcats looked to continue their momentum from the first set to the second, but many errors came with it as the Buffaloes took a six-point lead in the middle of the set 16-10. The Wildcats did make a run of their own to make it a one-point game at 17-16, but after that, the Buffaloes regained the momentum and went on a four-point run to extend their lead 22-17. Colorado ended up taking the second set 25-19.
Set 3 (25-18)
Emery Herman and Puk Stubbe led the way for the Wildcats in the third set. Herman recorded 10 assists and two kills. Stubbe had three kills for the set. Kamaile Hiapo went on a four-point serving run including two aces towards the beginning of the set to put the Wildcats up 7-3. From there, the two teams were exchanging points until the Wildcats pulled away to take the third set 25-18.
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Set 4 (32-30)
The fourth set of the game was the most exciting by far. The crowd was on their feet with excitement and cheering the team on as they pushed through the final set. Hiapo went on the three-point service run to put the Cats up 7-4 early. Once the Wildcats reached 10 points, Colorado took their feet off the gas and went on a five-point run to put them up 13-10. The Cats’ backs were against the wall, which made a run of their own by taking the lead back 16-14 after a four-point serving run from Maldonado Diaz including two aces. At that point, the Wildcats and Buffaloes were exchanging points back and forth until Colorado reached their breaking point when the Wildcats took the set and the match 32-30.
Maldonado Diaz and Stubbe were the stars of the game. Maldonado Diaz recorded 15 kills and 11 digs, while Stubbe had 13 kills and 13 digs. Defensively, the Cats showed out including 15 digs from Herman and 12 from Hiapo.
The Wildcats look to finish their season strong with their road trip to Los Angeles this upcoming weekend. Arizona plays Friday night against the University of Southern California, then Sunday afternoon against UCLA.
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