The Arizona volleyball team couldn’t swim well in the Ducks’ pond, falling to Oregon on Friday before taking charge and rebounding Saturday against the Beavers.

On Saturday, the Wildcats defeated the Beavers, 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-17).

Senior middle blocker Cursty Jackson led the team with 21 kills, and freshman outside hitter Madison Kingdon treaded closely behind her with 20 kills.

Meanwhile, senior opposite Courtney Karst tallied 14 kills for the team.

Arizona (9-2, 1-1) had a scare at the beginning of the match, letting the Beavers take the first set.

The Wildcats were coming off their first conference loss the night before against the No. 16 Oregon Ducks 3-0 (25-23, 25-10, 25-20), and the two matches were starting to look similar.

“I think our confidence was key,” Jackson said about the Wildcats’ loss to the Ducks. “Everyone was just a little nervous starting conference. I think Oregon State was a little better, actually, but we just came out and were just not mentally prepared.”

Head coach Dave Rubio agreed nerves were a significant reason for the loss.

“We were anxious, uptight and never really got in a flow,” said Rubio in a press release after the Oregon game. “It’s unfortunate, because we were in position to win game one and didn’t and we never got comfortable. As a result, we lost.”

There wasn’t a repeat performance against the Beavers. After the team lost the first set, it regained control and came back to win the next three games. “This was a really gutsy win for us,” Rubio said. “With the circumstances that they were — playing poorly the night before and the way it started — we really fought our way back tonight.”

Two freshmen starters who also made notable contributions were middle blocker Rachel Rhoades and setter Chloe Mathis.
Rhoades had six blocks, while Mathis made 57 assists for the Wildcats.

The focus in practice this week will focus on serving.

“We really need to go in there on Monday and serve aggressively,” Jackson said. “There were a lot of service errors in the Oregon game, I know I personally had four. We need to get our serves in when it counts. Especially if the person before you misses, we have to make sure the next person gets it in.”