Arizona volleyball marks first Big 12 conference win against No. 20 BYU in home thriller

Melisa Guzeloglu

October 3, 2024

Arizona’s Haven Wray serves the ball to USC in the final game of their match in McKale Center on Oct. 8. The Arizona team will go on to play Oregon this week.

The University of Arizona volleyball team (12-2, 1-2 in Big 12) fought a tough matchup and came out victorious, 3-2 (25-13, 23-25, 25-21, 18-25, 15-13) against No. 20 BYU on Wednesday, Oct. 2 in McKale Center.

This is the Wildcats’ first Big 12 home game of the season and Arizona finds itself back in the win column after a successful matchup against the Cougars.

Jaelyn Hodge led Arizona with 20 kills on a .340 hitting percentage for the night. Jordan Wilson led second, finishing with 14 kills. Avery Scoggins put up 40 assists and 12 digs for the Wildcats. Journey Tucker took over defensively for Arizona, tallying 11 total blocks.

Set 1: 25-13

Carlie Cisneros began set one with an ace, giving Arizona a 2-0 lead to start the game. Cisneros led the first set with a .800 hitting percentage on 4 kills.

BYU struggled offensively the entire set, being held to a -.150 hitting percentage by the Wildcats. Arizona put up multiple runs in the first set, winning 25-13 as the Wildcats did not stop scoring and dragging down the Cougar’s defense.

“I felt good after the first set, I felt like we were doubted and that we were putting ourselves in a position to compete the entire time,” head coach Charita Stubbs said.

Set 2: 23-25

BYU made a comeback in the second set, opening up with a 4-1 start as Claire Little provided 2 aces for the Cougars. This led them to a dominant set with multiple kills from Little and Elli Mortensen, which brought them to a 3-0 scoring run, leading Arizona 10-5.

Haven Wray was able to score an ace, allowing the Wildcats to find themselves back within 1 point as BYU continued to lead 16-15. Arizona traded the lead back-and-forth with BYU throughout the second set but ultimately fell short 25-23 after an ace served by BYU sophomore Mia Lee.

Set 3: 25-21

BYU served 2 aces back-to-back early on in set three, going on a 3-0 scoring run to lead 7-5 early in the third set. The Wildcats were able to claim set three however, finishing with a .351 hitting percentage, the highest for the night. Wilson led set three with 5 kills of her own followed by Hodge with 4 kills and two blocks.

Set 4: 18-25

BYU began the fourth set on a 5-0 scoring run that would help the Cougars hold a steady lead. BYU put pressure on Arizona, building an 18-11 lead to force a timeout. It wouldn’t be long till BYU won set four 25-18, forcing a fifth and final set. The Cougars held Arizona to just a -.037 hitting percentage in set four.

Set 5: 15-13

Arizona opened up the final set leading 10-5 after a 5-0 scoring run. The Cougars would not back down, inching closer to an 11-9 score on 2 kills and a block assist. As the game came to a set point with roaring energy from the crowd in McKale Center, Hodge won the final point with a kill for Arizona, winning 15-13.

“I think early on they blocked me, so I switched up the shots, knowing when I had the bigger blocker on me versus not and then we worked on tipping over the blockers. I think that was a big advantage I had tonight,” said Hodge.