Undefeated at two invitationals in two weeks in a row, the Arizona volleyball team is gaining momentum for their upcoming conference play.
The Wildcats (8-1) went 3-0 this weekend at the Evansville Dunn Hospitality Invitational in Evansville, Ind.
Last week at their Wildcat Classic, the team also went undefeated, but struggled against less competitive teams. The Wildcats were their own worst enemy, giving up multiple points in errors, especially in serving and defense.
Head coach Dave Rubio said he wasn’t pleased with his team’s play last week, even comparing his experience to getting a cavity filled in without Novocain, he said.
No cavities were filled this weekend.
“We had a really good week of practice last week, and it really showed in the tournament,” Rubio said after their last match on Saturday. “I thought we were the best we played since we started. We were very efficient in our serving and our passing, so the team in general played really solid.”
On Friday, UA defeated the University of Illinois Chicago Flames, 25-16, 25-22 and 25-20.
The team also debuted their new 6-2 offense, having setters junior Tori Moore and freshman Chloe Mathis, simultaneously take
the court.
Mathis took on more responsibility and rose to the occasion with 24 assists in the first match.
“She was solid,” Rubio said of Mathis. “Taylor (Arizobal) would go in when Tori (Moore) was in back row and Courtney (Karst) would go in when Chloe (Mathis) would be back row.”
Rubio waited to test out this new offense with Arizobal, a freshman outside hitter, who wasn’t cleared to play due to a shoulder injury.
“Taylor’s shoulder is holding up. I don’t think it’s at 100 percent, but we’ve been given the green light by her trainers,” Rubio said.
On Saturday the team had a double-header, first beating the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks, 25-16, 25-15, 25-18.
They concluded their sweep with a win against the University of Evansville Purple Aces, the only team to get a game on the ‘Cats (25-17, 25-16, 23-25, 25-19).
“I liked what’s been going on,” Rubio said. “I like where we’re at, I think we can still improve quite a bit, but I like what we’re doing.”
