The University of Arizona volleyball team (13-9, 7-5 in Big 12) defeated BYU 3-1 (26-24, 21-25, 25-22, 26-24 ) on Wednesday, Nov. 5, in McKale Center. This marked Arizona’s second consecutive win following their recent victory over TCU on Halloween.
Senior outside hitter Jordan Wilson put on another impressive performance, using her powerful kills to close out a significant number of the Wildcats’ points.
Middle blocker Journey Tucker and freshman outside hitter Renee Jones were forces to be reckoned with at the net. They put up countless roofs for Arizona throughout the sets.
Set one
The set began with a 4-point scoring streak for the Cougars while Arizona was finding their footing. A kill from Adrianna Bridges broke the streak and put Arizona on the board. Back-to-back kills by Wilson, along with strong defensive work at the net from Tucker and Avery Scoggins, kept the Wildcats and Cougars trading points back and forth throughout the beginning of the first set.
A service ace by Haven Wray and a massive hit by Wilson stretched the lead for Arizona by 3 points, making it 18-15. An incredible point that ended with an attack error by Carlie Cisneros put the two teams back even at 20-20. Another set of back-to-back kills from Wilson closed out the set in favor of the Wildcats 26-24.
Set two
Arizona was off to a steady start, surging ahead of the Cougars with an attack error from BYU’s Suli Davis and a kill from Wilson assisted by Scoggins. However, a 6-point surge from the Cougars brought them back ahead of the Wildcats 6-2, until a kill from Wilson put their streak to an end.
Consecutive kills from Davis put Arizona’s defense to the test as the Cougars began to rack up more points, leaving the Wildcats down 14-8 midway through the second set.
The Wildcats gained momentum and were able to impressively cut the Cougars lead to just one point, 18-17.
After several more points on either side of the court, an ace from Claire Little Chambers closed out the set 25-21, the Cougars getting one under their belt.
Set three
Jones and Tucker started the third set off making crucial blocks at the net, keeping Arizona and BYU close in score.
Strong offensive hitters, Little Chambers and Wilson, both closed out points for their teams, making for an exciting set.
A massive kill through the middle from Wilson brought the Wildcats one point shy of the Cougars at 14-13 as they approached the midway point in the set.
As both teams battled for the lead the remainder of the set, Arizona prevailed, ending the set with an ace from Cisneros 25-22.
Set four
Both teams entered the fourth set with high energy. BYU made it difficult for Arizona’s top strikers to land kills as their defense came up clutch with digs and roofs. With Arizona up 5-4, BYU called for a review claiming Wilson’s kill went out of bounds and did not touch a BYU player. After review, the point was reversed, adding a point to BYU’s score.
BYU then took the lead with 3 straight points to make it 7-5. A second review by BYU also went their way, extending the Cougars’ lead to 11-6. The Wildcats refused to let their spirit fade. Three consecutive kills for Arizona, 2 from Bridges and 1 from Wilson, put them ahead 15-14.
After putting on a show all match, Jones sealed the win with a cross court kill that gave Arizona the set 26-24 and the match victory.
Looking ahead
Arizona is set to take on Texas Tech University for the second time this season this Friday, Nov. 7, at 11 a.m. in McKale.
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