Arizona volleyball traveled to Oregon this weekend to take on the Ducks and the Beavers. Beat reporters Dan Philipsborn and CJ Lala break down what went down this weekend in the Pacific Northwest.

Friday

Arizona volleyball finally broke out of its four-game losing streak, earning its third conference win of the season, defeating Oregon (25-20, 27-25, 25-21). Despite each set being close, the Wildcats found a way to sustain their lead to ultimately come out with the 3-0 victory. One of the key factors for Arizona’s success was their .286 hitting percentage verses Oregon’s .239.

Paige Whipple was her usual self Friday night as she recorded a game-high 18 kills. Julia Patterson, who recently returned from injury, led the match with 33 assists to not only help seal the victory, but to also help her climb the leaderboards in all-time assists before her college career concludes in a couple weeks. Devyn Cross helped her All-American campaign, being effective on both ends, recording 10 kills and a block.  

As for Oregon, this loss will extend their losing streak to four games, only winning one set within that span. Not only was their attack percentage substantially lower than Arizona’s, but they also made three more service errors and seemed to constantly be playing from behind. It was evident that both teams were intensely playing for pride despite neither side having postseason expectations.

Sunday:

Arizona defeated the Oregon State Beavers 3-2 in the Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Ore., on Sunday morning. 

The first set was very competitive at the beginning, with the lead changing hands six times within the first 10 points of the set. Eventually the Wildcats were able to put consecutive points together to take a 17-14 lead. It would not last long, though, as the Beavers came back to tie the set at 20 each. After back-to-back kills from Paige Whipple, the Wildcats were able to close out the first set with at 25-20 win.

In the second set it was Oregon State who got off to a hot start, taking a 6-1 lead. Arizona was able to make a run to close the deficit to four points, but the Beavers had an answer every time the Wildcats were able to get close. The Beavers went on to take the second set 25-20.

The third set was a constant battle for the lead, with Oregon State and Arizona tying in points several times over. After a Katie Smoot kill capped a 5-0 run to take a 16-11 lead, the Beavers did not go down quietly as they battled back to tie the score at 23. But back-to-back kills for the Wildcats boosted them to a 25-23 win.

Once again, the Beavers jumped out to an early 6-2 lead in the fourth set, but the Wildcats had an answer as they tied it back up at 12. After that, the Beavers and Wildcats had a steady battle, but ultimately OSU came out on top with a 23-25 victory in the fourth set, bringing the match to 2-2 overall.

Much like the first set, the fifth and final set was very close in the beginning. Neither team was able to take a lead larger than one point. After Arizona was able to tie the match at 8, they were able to put together a 7-4 run and take the final set 15-12 to win the match by a final score of 3-2.

What’s Next:

The Wildcats move to 14-14 on the season and they will be back in action in the McKale Center on Friday, Nov. 22, against Washington at 7 p.m. and again on Sunday, Nov. 24, against Washington State.

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