Arizona volleyball was able to pull out a win against California after its heartbreaking, five-set loss to Stanford on Wednesday night.
After getting off to a slow start and struggling to rally points together, No. 14 Arizona was able to make adjustments and pull out a win against Cal. The Golden Bears had control of the first set, taking it 25-22.
The Bears continued to dominate in the second set, and took a 15-12 lead. Arizona was able to turn the match around at this point, sparked with kills from Penina Snuka and Kalei Mau. They tied it at 15-15, and the set remained tied at 18-18.
Cal would reclaim the lead again at 21-19, but Arizona would fight back and take the second set with six points in a row.
Arizona carried this momentum into the third, jumping out to 6-1 and 12-4 leads. McKenzie Jacobson made several key blocks, and Snuka made critical saves and assists to help the team start out well.
Cal would attempt to come back, but they could only cut the lead down to three, when the score was 18-15. Arizona would go on to win the third set 25-17.
The fourth set started off close, with Arizona up 9-8. Arizona would then win six points in a row, growing its lead to 15-8 and putting the match out of reach for Cal. The Wildcats would continue to roll, taking the set and match 25-15.
This will be the Wildcat’s last home game for a while. They now head on the road, playing Washington next Wednesday and Washington State on Friday. The following week they will head to Los Angeles to take on UCLA and USC.
The Wildcats have improved their overall record to 12-4 and are 2-2 in Pac-12 Conference play.
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