Arizona volleyball wins second Big 12 match against Houston

Melisa Guzeloglu

October 18, 2024

Jordan Wilson, 5, talks to her teammates before set 4 begins on Oct. 2 in McKale Center. All University of Arizona players had over 13 kills.

The University of Arizona volleyball team (13-5, 2-5 in Big 12) defeated the University of Houston 3-1 (25-20, 22-25, 25-17, 25-16) on Friday, Oct. 18 at 6 p.m. in McKale Center.

Jaelyn Hodge and Jordan Wilson guided the team to its second Big 12 win as they posted identical stats, leading the Wildcats with 18 kills and 16 digs apiece against the Cougars.

Set one

Within the opening minutes of the game, Avery Scoggins served an ace that put Arizona ahead 9-6 in the first set. The lead grew as the Wildcats went on a 6-1 scoring run caused by an ace served once again by Scoggins. Arizona controlled the lead to pull ahead 25-20, claiming set one. The Wildcats hit .469 in the first set and held the Cougars to their .219 hitting percentage. Hodge finished with 6 kills and a .600 hitting percentage to lead Arizona in the first set.

Set two

Houston began the second set on a 4-1 scoring run to lead Arizona. It wouldn’t take long for the Wildcats to come back with a kill by Wilson to reclaim the 7-6 lead. The Cougars took a 21-20 lead coming out of a timeout but the Wildcats quickly responded with a kill to tie the score. Houston’s defense tallied three blocks to hold Arizona to its lowest hitting percentage in the match, .136. Rebecca Rocassin served an ace for Houston to help push the Cougars to take a 24-22 lead. Arizona fell in the second set 25-22 after Houston earned the final point, tying the match 1-1.

Set three

Arizona went on an early 6-point scoring run in the third set to push the Wildcats ahead 8-3. Wilson served 2 aces not too far apart from each other, putting Arizona on another 4-point scoring run to force a Cougar timeout. The Wildcats’ offense put pressure on Houston as Carlie Cisneros served an ace of her own to give Arizona a 10-point lead, gaining the 20th point of the game. Arizona took the third set 25-17, taking the 2-1 match lead. Wilson led the set with 6 kills while Hodge closely followed with 4 kills.

Set four

An ace served early by Kiari Robey allowed the Wildcats to gain a 5-2 scoring advantage in the final set. Shortly after, Arizona went on a 4-point scoring run that put the Wildcats in control of the 13-5 score. The Cougars could not find an answer for Arizona’s defense as the Wildcats tallied 19 digs and two blocks in the fourth set. Arizona finished hitting .406, the highest the Wildcats recorded in the game. Houston would fail to make a comeback as the Wildcats went on to win the fourth and final set 25-16 to take down the Cougars. Hodge led the set with 6 kills and Cisneros added 4 kills herself.