After being embarrassed in Los Angeles a weekend ago, the No. 22 Arizona volleyball team rebounded in the best way possible – two wins, one of which was over the No. 11 team in the country.
The Wildcats (20-9, 9-7 Pac-10) beat both Washington State and No. 11 Washington in four sets in McKale Center over the weekend, and climbed into the top half of the Pacific 10 Conference standings.
On Saturday night against Washington (19-8, 8-8), the Wildcats gave head coach Dave Rubio the effort he wanted in what was perhaps their best all-around game of the season. Arizona beat the Huskies for the first time in eight seasons during the seniors’ home finale.
“”It’s my last game at home, and in four years we’ve never beat Washington,”” senior Paige Weber said. “”Before we came in we were told that the last time we beat them was eight years ago. We played them here, on our home floor, and finally won. You couldn’t write a better story.””
After struggling to put opponents away at the end of a match, the Wildcats were able to finish off Washington after dropping the third set.
“”I’m happy that we were able to beat a very good team at home, especially since we’ve been so close all season,”” Rubio said. “”We were good enough at the end of the game to win it.””
Against the Cougars (6-20, 0-16), Arizona took the first set by a score of 25-13 after jumping out to a 15-2 lead. The Wildcats struggled over the next three sets, but head coach Dave Rubio was just happy to get a win.
“”This is a win that we needed to have,”” Rubio said. “”We’ll take the win no matter how we can get it.””
Washington State didn’t crumble after the blowout in the first set. The Cougars rebounded to win set two 25-19 behind a flurry of Arizona errors.
“”In the second set, we got comfortable and let them back in the game,”” freshman Candace Nicholson said. “”We came back, and that’s all that matters.””
Arizona won the final two sets by a combined 11 points to avoid the upset loss.
Even though the Wildcats escaped with the win, Rubio had harsh words for his team following the match.
“”At this point we need to step up, and everyone needs to play better,”” Rubio said. “”We’re (less than) a week from our last match, and everybody needs to play at the level they’re capable of. As a team, we need to be more assertive and proactive.””
