Arizona volleyball returns home to McKale Center to finish off tournament play this weekend during the Wildcat Classic. Before entering conference play next week, it’s essential that Arizona finishes strong this weekend against Alabama State, New Mexico State and Sacramento State universities.

Coming off a sweep of the Kansas Invitational, where the Wildcats did not lose a single set and have improved its record to 7-2, there are a plethora of reasons to be optimistic.

Alabama State started off the season strong at 3-0 but have since then lost its last eight matches. Hoping to get things back on track, there is no doubt that they will need strong play from their key seniors: Bayle’ Bennett and Krysta Medearis. Bennett was recently named Southwestern Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week, as she averaged 3.69 digs per set last weekend.

Additionally, her 36 kills helped her break Alabama State’s career kill record. As for Medearis, she has been thriving offensively, recently earning SWAC Offensive Player of the Week. This past weekend, she totaled an impressive 39 kills. It should be an enticing start to the tournament on Sept. 20, as both teams have something to prove.

On Friday evening, Arizona finishes its double-header against New Mexico State. With UA hoping to continue its momentum, it will be a challenge as New Mexico State has been playing extremely well in the early season, earning an 8-1 record so far.

Redshirt sophomore and Toronto-native Savannah Davison will lead the way for the New Mexico State Aggies, as she recently was named the Western Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week after a stellar performance this past weekend. In the three games the Aggies played, Davison averaged 3.7 kills per match to helped her team continue their hot start to the season. 

Lastly, Arizona will conclude the Wildcat Classic with a showdown against Sacramento State on Saturday. The Sacramento State Hornets (3-7) will try to snap its three-game losing streak, which has held them to the worst ten-game start to the season that their team has had since 2008 (2-8).

Sarah Davis of the Hornets will try to lead her team back to its traditional winning ways in her home state of Arizona, helping her team so far by recording 143 kills on the season. The next highest on the team is Macey Hayden with 89 kills. This tandem will need to be present so their team can compete at its greatest potential against the scorching Wildcats.

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