The year 2005 had two distinguishing marks for Arizona volleyball. It was the last time the Wildcats won both matches against rival Arizona State, and it was the last time Arizona was selected for the NCAA Tournament.
“”This match had me really worried just because I know ASU is a very good team and well-coached,”” said head coach Dave Rubio. “”This is one that we needed to get if we are going to make it to postseason and strengthen our reasons why they needed to give us an at-large. This is a match we needed to have.””
This weekend, the No. 18 Wildcats (18-7, 7-7 Pacific 10 Conference) completed the season sweep before a crowd of 2,321 against the Sun Devils (13-13, 3-11 Pac-10) after having already defeated ASU in Tempe 3-1.
Arizona was able to seal the victory thanks to the serving of junior Danielle Holloway, who turned the tide of the third set in favor of the Wildcats. Off of her tough serving, the Wildcats battled back from a 13-17 deficit to take the lead 19-17. Holloway had two serving aces in the match.
“”Danielle came in and really changed what happened in-game there. We were down by a couple. By the time she was done we were up by a couple,”” said Rubio about the impact of Holloway in the third set. “”That made a big difference at the end of the game.””
“”She served great. That really got us back,”” said senior libero Alanna Resch. “”Her doing so well gave the team that extra energy to go back out there and catch back up.””
The first set of the match was closely contested — the lead changed eight times between the Sun Devils and the Wildcats. UA rattled off a 10-6 run at the end of the set to continue its trend of winning the first set in the match.
The Wildcats received outstanding offensive performances from junior outside hitter Whitney Dosty and the middle blocker core of Jacy Norton and Stephanie Snow. Combined, Norton and Snow had 13 kills in the match, while Dosty led all scoring with 14 kills.
“”I’m super excited that (while) I’ve been here that we’ve swept ASU,”” said Resch, who finished with 19 digs. “”Everybody was really on-point tonight and everybody went out there and did their jobs.””
Junior outside hitter Tiffany Owens struggled early in the match for Arizona. Through two sets, she only registered four kills and had six attacking errors. Owens would not go quietly, though. She came roaring back in the third set, rattling off seven kills and five assists to record her sixth straight double-double and her 14th of the season.
The Wildcats will play their final home games of the season next weekend when they welcome the Bay Area schools to McKale Center. Seniors Norton and Resch will be honored in the game against the California Golden Bears.
