The University of Arizona volleyball team (17-12, 10-8 in Big 12) beat South Dakota State University (25-21, 22-25, 25-15, 25-15) in its first NCAA match on Friday, Dec. 5 at 5:30 p.m. in Stanford, California in Maples Pavilion. The Wildcats will be advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Set 1
The first set opened with back-to-back Wildcats kills by sophomore Carlie Cisneros. Arizona gained a 4-point advantage after a 3-point scoring run with blocks from Adrianna Bridges. South Dakota’s freshman outside hitter Hannah Klein served an ace for the Jackrabbits, shortening the gap to 10-8.
Going into the first media break, the Wildcats had a solid 15-11 lead after a powerful kill from Jordan Wilson. Arizona proceeded to go on a 6-point scoring run with an ace from Wilson and kills from Cisneros and Renee Jones. After being 9 points behind, South Dakota was able to close the gap 22-18 after 3 consecutive kills from Sylvie Zgonc.
Though the Jackrabbits were able to close the gap, it was not enough. The Wildcats took the first set 25-21.
Set 2
The Jackrabbits came into the second set hot with an 8-point scoring run, including an ace from Joslyn Richardson. Arizona was able to close up the gap to South Dakota 10-7 with kills from Wilson along with blocks by Journey Tucker, Avery Scoggins and Wilson. Tucker and Wilson led Arizona with a 3-point scoring run which shortened the Jackrabbits’ lead to only 3 points ahead of the Wildcats.
South Dakota established a large lead early that they kept throughout the set. Though the Wildcats were able to make a strong comeback after falling behind at the start, the Jackrabbits won the second set 25-22.
Set 3
The third set opened with both teams going point for point until Arizona pulled away with a 4-point scoring run. During this scoring run, Wilson served an ace that tied the set at 4-4 before the Wildcats continued their run that ended with a 6-4 lead. Scoggins fired an ace followed shortly by Tucker, who put up 2 consecutive kills, extending their lead 19-11.
Arizona pulled away early in the set and maintained their momentum that allowed them to take the win. The Wildcats won the third set 25-15.
Set 4
Arizona kept their momentum from the previous set and took the lead in the fourth set. Throughout the set, the Wildcats would go on 4-point scoring runs for every point the Jackrabbits scored. Sydnie Vanek delivered 2 strong consecutive kills, bringing the Wildcats’ lead to 13-7. To finish out the set, Arizona scored 4 consecutive points to take the set 25-15.
Looking ahead
After this victory against South Dakota State, the Wildcats will be advancing to the next round of the NCAA tournament where they will face Stanford University on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. in Stanford, California.
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