The University of Arizona volleyball team (13-6, 2-6 in Big 12) faced a 3-1 (25-23, 25-15, 25-19, 25-15) loss to No. 13 ASU on Thursday, Oct. 24 at 6 p.m. in McKale Center. The Wildcats won the second set, but it was not enough to carry them through the rest of the game as the Sun Devils gave Arizona its sixth conference loss of the season.
Jaelyn Hodge led the Wildcats with 17 kills and eight digs as Jordan Wilson followed with a double-double, finishing the night with 15 kills and 14 digs.
Set 1
ASU opened the scoring in the first set with an ace by Geli Cyr to put the Sun Devils up 2-1. The Sun Devils proceeded to go on a 6-1 scoring run, gaining a 16-8 lead that the Wildcats couldn’t respond to. Wilson would gain a kill that tied the set 21-21 but the Sun Devils kept finding ways to score and pull ahead.
Wilson led the set with 4 kills while Kiari Robey finished with 3 kills. Defensively, Hodge led with two blocks but it wasn’t enough to hold ASU as the Sun Devils won the first set 25-23.
Set 2
Arizona held ASU to its lowest hitting percentage in the second set, .132. The Wildcats were able to limit the Sun Devils’ scoring later in the set, going on a 6-point run that included an ace from Robey, pushing Arizona ahead 15-9. Hodge scored 6 kills in the second set to lead Arizona as Wilson closely followed with 5 kills. The Wildcats continued to go on runs in the second set, not allowing ASU to grant many errors. A 6-point scoring run pushed the Wildcats ahead 15-9. From then on, Arizona had control as the Wildcats finished the second set hitting .385 and winning 25-15 to tie the match 1-1.
Set 3
The third set included both programs going back-and-forth. Despite Arizona finding a lead during the set, the Wildcats were not able to hold off ASU and completed the set with a .143 hitting percentage.
Cisneros led the set with 5 kills while Wilson and Hodge had 4 kills apiece. ASU closed out the third set with back-to-back aces by Argentina Ung to win 25-19, taking a 2-1 lead.
Set 4
ASU jumped to an early 3-0 lead in the beginning of the fourth set that the Wildcats could not find a way to come back from. Arizona hit -0.063, its lowest of the game, while the Sun Devils did not slow down offensively, finishing with a .417 hitting percentage, the highest for the night. The Wildcats never led in the fourth and final set as the Sun Devils closed out the game 25-15 to take a 3-1 match victory. Hodge finished the set leading the Wildcats with 5 kills.
Looking ahead
Arizona will be heading on the road to Salt Lake City, Utah as the Wildcats get ready to take on the University of Utah on Thursday, Oct. 31 at 6 p.m. in Jon. M Huntsman Center.
