Washington State defeated the No. 25 Arizona volleyball team in a five set match, 3-2, Sunday afternoon in Pullman, Washington [25-18, 27-29, 25-23, 21-25, 15-12].

Senior outside hitter Kalei Mau posted a career-high 31 kills in the match, which tied for 15th-most in a match in Arizona history and the most of any Pac-12 Conference player this year. Mau also posted 17 digs, making it her 11th double-double of the season. 

The opening frame went fast for the Cougars as they sparked a six-point lead, 13-7, early in the set. Arizona’s offense attempted to regain the lost points, but the Cougars held their strong lead and cruised to win the set, 25-18.

Washington State carried the power into the second set taking an early five-point lead. Arizona fought its way up with help from Mau who knocked down back-to-back kills to knot the score up at 24-24. The Cougars tried holding of the Wildcats until the offensive duo of Kendra Dahlke and Mau made back-to-back kills taking the set 29-27. 

Washington State came back in the third set with an early 4-0 run. Arizona’s strong offense racked up points, keeping the score tight throughout the set. The Wildcats held a strong three-point lead through the end of the third, but were overpowered by the Courgars’ offense that would take the set, 25-23.   

The teams tied the fourth set 13 times throughout the set as they continued to exchange points. Washington State couldn’t hold off the Wildcats as they made back-to-back attack errors, giving Arizona the set 25-21 to force a fifth frame. 

Arizona tried to carry its energy into the fifth set, but the Cougars broke away scoring the final five points to win the match. 

The Wildcats will be back in McKale Center on Friday for a match against the California Golden Bears at 4:30 p.m. 

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