The Arizona volleyball team (8-19, 3-13 in Pac-12) successfully won its weekend matchups in the McKale Center against the University of Utah on Thursday, Nov. 9, and the University of Colorado on Saturday, Nov. 11, at 2 p.m. The Wildcats broke their nine-game losing streak and are currently on a two-game winning streak.
Thursday, Nov. 9: Utah (10-16, 5-11 in Pac-12)
Set results: 25-16, 25-22, 22-25, 25-18
Set 1:
Arizona won the first set of the match 25-16. At the beginning of the set, Ana Heath came out with an ace, giving the Wildcats an early 1-0 lead. Heath also assisted with three total blocks in the set. Sofia Maldonado Diaz had three kills while Jordan Wilson had four. In total, the Wildcats served four aces and had 11 kills to win the first set of the match.
Set 2:
The Wildcats took the second set 25-22. Heath once gave the team an early 2-0 lead, with another ace in the first minutes of the set. Heath had a total of two aces out of four. Both teams kept the match close throughout. Jaelyn Hodge had six kills on a .857 clip. Nicole Briggs knocked down three kills keeping the team safe in points. During the last few minutes of the set, Haven Wray served an ace scoring the set point of set two. Arizona won the second set by a service error made by Utah’s Allie Olsen. Overall, The Wildcats acquired 13 kills, 8 digs and 4 aces.
Set 3:
Utah won the third set 22-25. Arizona had the lead until Utah made a comeback on a 6-0 scoring run to overtake the Wildcats from 13-16 to 18-16. Hodge made four kills and Wilson made three kills. Overall, Arizona had a hitting percentage of .226 while Utah had a .429 hitting percentage. Utah had a total of 14 kills and Arizona had 12 kills.
Set 4:
Arizona won set four 25-18, to win the match. Maldonado Diaz led the team with two consecutive aces during set points 12-17 and 12-18. Maldonado Diaz had a total of four kills throughout the fourth set. Hodge and Wilson each had three kills. Overall, Arizona had 12 kills, two aces and a .360 hit percentage. Utah only had a .235 hitting percentage with no aces in the final set.
Match Leaders:
Kills: Jaelyn Hodge – 15
Assists: Ana Heath – 38
Digs: Joy Galles – 8
Blocks: Ana Heath – 5
Saturday, Nov. 11: Colorado (14-13, 6-10 in Pac-12)
Set Results: 25-21, 21-25, 21-25, 26-24, 15-12
Set 1:
Arizona won set one 25-21. The set was tied 17-17 until Arizona took the lead with a kill from Hodge followed by two attack errors from the Buffs. Wilson led the way with four kills. Both Hodge and Maldonado Diaz had three kills during the set. The Buffs were unable to recover which gave the set win to Arizona. The Wildcats totaled 14 kills with one ace made by Heath.
Set 2:
Colorado took the second set 21-25, to even the match 1-1. The Buffs took the lead with a .414 hitting percentage while Arizona only acquired .280. The Buffs had also made three blocks which gave them the advantage to win the set. Wilson had four kills out of the 12 total kills from Arizona. Colorado had a hitting percentage of .414 while Arizona carried a .280 percentage.
Set 3:
Colorado also won set three 21-25, to take the lead in the match 2-1. The set points were tight throughout until the Buffs made a comeback with three consecutive kills to win the set. Hodge and Maldonado Diaz both had six kills out of 16 total kills in the set. Arizona only made one ace throughout the set made by Heath.
Set 4:
The Wildcats took set four 26-24, to force a fifth set. Heath was the only person who made an ace during set four at set point 9-7. The set was tied 24-24 until Wilson made two consecutive kills to push the Wildcats to victory. Arizona totaled 19 kills, and 15 digs with a hitting percentage of .317. Colorado acquired 13 kills, 15 digs and a hitting percentage of .312.
Set 5:
Arizona won the last set of the match 15-12 to secure its victory. During the last set, Arizona carried a hitting percentage of .440 while Colorado acquired a .294 hitting percentage. Maldonado Diaz led the team with six kills while Briggs, Hodge and Heath each made two kills. Neither team made an ace throughout the set.
Overall, throughout the five sets, Arizona totaled 75 kills, 3 aces and 55 digs with a hitting percentage of .331. On the other hand, Colorado only acquired 61 kills, 7 aces and 52 digs with a hitting percentage of .317. Heath tied her career high of four kills and made a career-best of 55 assists.
Match Leaders
Kills: Sofia Maldonado Diaz – 27
Assists: Ana Heath – 55
Digs: Jaelyn Hodge – 14
Blocks: Sofia Maldonado Diaz – 2
Looking Ahead:
Arizona is scheduled to play against Oregon State University on Friday, Nov. 17 at 5 p.m. and then a few days later will face off against the University of Oregon on Sunday, Nov. 19 at noon and both matches will be played in the McKale Center.
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