After dropping last week’s road matches against Colorado and Utah, Arizona volleyball (15-7, 5-5 Pac-12) will take on Oregon and Oregon State this weekend on the road.
Last weekend was rough for the Wildcats, but they are focusing on defeating the Ducks and the Beavers.
“Going into last weekend, we felt pretty confident, but we knew they were both good teams and we knew we had to play hard,” said junior outside hitter Madi Kingdon. “I just don’t think that we played to our full capability.”
Arizona’s passing was an issue during its past two matches, so this week players worked on that the most.
Kingdon said she concentrated on her passing and mentally prepared herself to have a good weekend on the court.
“I’ve been focusing on the little things. Our passing was not great this weekend so I’ve been focusing on that the most,” Kingdon said. “Our communication and our passing just needs to get better overall, but other than that I think we are ready [for the weekend].”
The Wildcats will play the No. 23 Oregon Ducks on Saturday at 7 p.m. and the Oregon State Beavers on Sunday at 4 p.m. The Oregon match will be on Pac-12.com and the OSU contest will be shown on the Pac-12 Networks.
The Ducks’ All-American senior setter, Lauren Plum, has high numbers in assists against teams like then-No. 6 Stanford.
Arizona’s freshman setter, Penina Snuka, had 43 assists in the previous match against Utah and 26 against Colorado.
Snuka said that she and her teammates were complacent after sweeping UCLA and USC.
“Our execution lacked a little bit, but I think the coaches are doing their job,” Snuka said. “I think as players, we need to go out there and execute and just play a little better.”
Snuka said she prepared herself for this weekend’s matches by watching film and getting feedback from her teammates.
—Follow Rose Aly Valenzuela @RoseAlyVal