Members of the Arizona volleyball team said there would be nothing better than a weekend sweep to conclude their home schedule for the season, and they got a good start as they knocked off No. 24 Oregon, 29-31, 30-25, 26-30, 30-23, 15-8, last night in McKale Center.
Freshman outside hitter Whitney Dosty led the way for the Wildcats (11-15, 2-12 Pacific 10 Conference) as she posted a career-high 29 kills while swinging .365.
UA head coach Dave Rubio described Dosty’s performance as “”pretty impressive.””
“”I just felt like I was keeping more balls in play opposed to hitting them out,”” Dosty said. “”It didn’t feel too much different except for the fight in the team and just playing together.””
Arizona also had three more players with double-digit kills, including sophomores outside hitter Brooke Buringurd and opposite hitter Randy Goodenough, who both posted 15.
“”Tonight the difference was the players were going to be aggressive as attackers, they were going to take charge when they needed to take charge, and that really was the difference,”” Rubio said. “”I’m really excited for the players. It’s nice for them to get rewarded with a win.””
Following a tough loss in game three, the Wildcats were not willing to give up. Arizona used a late 10-6 run in game four to force a fifth game against Oregon (17-6, 7-6).
Dosty said the mindset going into game five was to “”just win.””
It showed when Arizona came out swinging, storming out to a 10-3 lead. The Wildcats eventually took the game and the match after out-hitting the Ducks .333 to .000.
Senior setter Stephanie Butkus contributed a season-high 69 assists to the win.
“”I think our passing was great tonight,”” Butkus said. “”I was able to set all the hitters and spread the ball around.””
The Ducks wasted no time taking control of the first game, as they stormed out to a 14-4 lead. Although Arizona showed great resiliency with a 14-3 run to eventually tie the game 29-29, Oregon snuck away with the first game, 31-29.
Even with Arizona freshman outside hitter Whitney Dosty posting 11 kills on .667 hitting in the first game and Arizona out-swinging the Ducks .250 to .238, Oregon’s early lead proved to be insurmountable.
In the second game, the two teams came out trading blows to eventually see the score tied at 11. With the use of a four-point run, Arizona created a gap between the two squads that would never close as the Wildcats took the second game.
Arizona out-hit the Ducks once again in the second game .286 to .209. Dosty added five more kills and sophomore libero Brittany Leonard posted five digs.
Game three began in similar fashion as game two after both teams played a tight game all the way to a tie at 24, but the Wildcats left the game slip away, leaving them with two must-win games.
The Wildcats would like to produce the same offensive numbers they posted in last night’s game in the rematch against the Oregon State team they took their only other Pac-10 victory from tonight when they play their final home game of the season.
The Beavers (3-19, 0-13), the only team in the Pac-10 who has yet to win a conference game, will venture into McKale Center with plans of snapping a 13-match losing streak.
In the last meeting between the two squads, Arizona had four players with double-digit kills while post a .310 hitting percentage.
Oregon State is 0-9 on the road heading into the match, as they have not won a single game since its meeting with Washington State on Oct. 6.
“”Every game we are taking steps forward,”” Rubio said. “”After every step, there is always another step to take afterward. We have a game tomorrow, and that is our next step.””