Arizona sand volleyball hosted the Arizona Invitational over the weekend at Jimenez Field, which featured Arizona, Texas Christian, Louisiana State, Tulane and ASU. The Wildcats faced off against TCU Friday, followed by matches against LSU and Tulane on Saturday.
The Wildcats had a winning opening weekend with 5-0 sweeps over TCU and Tulane and a 4-1 win over LSU.
“You put the time and effort in, as these ladies have,” said Arizona sand volleyball coach Steve Walker. “They deserve a chance to get out and compete, and the victories were well-earned.”
The Wildcats battled through the intense wind in Tucson on Friday. Madi Kingdon shed some light on how the team offset the wind and pulled out a victory.
“The ball moves a lot in the wind,” Kingdon said. “Keeping our sets low and keeping the ball in rhythm really helps to get good sets and good swings.”
Arizona’s adjustments were successful, as the Wildcats went undefeated against the TCU Horned Frogs, finishing up their first match of the weekend with a 5-0 sweep.
Arizona’s Taylor Arizobal and Allie Cook started off the weekend with a win over TCU 21-4, 21-18.
The rest of the Arizona team followed suit as the competition continued. Sarah Seiber and Hayley Devlin won 21-5, 21-13 over TCU, followed by Emily Kiser and Olivia Macdonald, who defeated TCU, 21-16, 21-8.
The second round of the match went much the same as the first. Arizona’s No. 1 pair, Kingdon and Kaitlyn Leary, dominated the court and won 21-7, 21-11.
Twins Madison Witt and McKenna Witt sealed the deal for Arizona with their win over TCU, 21-11, 21-16.
The Wildcats continued their dominance during day two of the Arizona Invitational with wins over LSU and Tulane. Arizona took on the LSU Tigers to begin the day and won the match 4-1.
Arizobal and Cook took the win over LSU, 21-13, 21-18, in round one of day two. Seiber and Devlin followed suit and also defeated LSU, 21-13, 21-18.
Kingdon and Leary started off round two of day two with a 21-6, 21-17, win over LSU, while Madison Witt and McKenna Witt beat LSU, 21-12, 21-6.
Arizona’s Kendall Polan and Rachel Rhodes fell to LSU, 19-21, 21-19, 14-16, making Arizona’s match record 4-1.
The final match featured a showdown between Arizona and a Tulane squad Arizona dominated last year in a 5-0 win. The Wildcats again swept Tulane 5-0 to close out the invitational.
Arizobal and Cook kicked off the final match on court one and defeated Tulane, 21-19, 21-15. Seiber and Devlin continued Arizona’s winning streak with a 21-16, 21-11, win over Tulane.
Arizona continued to overpower Tulane in round two to clinch the 5-0 sweep, as Kingdon and Leary defeated Tulane, 22-20, 21-15, as the No. 1 team.
Madison Witt and Mckenna Witt pulled out two close sets with Tulane on court two to win 21-19, 24-22. Polan and Rhodes defeated Tulane 21-14, 26-24, on court three to seal the deal for Arizona.
The Wildcats are off until Saturday when the team hits the road to face Cal Poly.
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