Arizona Volleyball Wins the Season Finale Over Arizona State

The Arizona Volleyball team wrapped up a disappointing season and a tough week for Arizona Athletics with a win over arch rivals Arizona State Saturday evening at McKale Center.

Thanksgiving Week had an abundance of potential for Arizona Athletics. The No. 2 ranked basketball team traveled to the Bahamas for a holiday tournament, the Women’s Volleyball team flew to Seattle to play to Pac-12 powerhouse Washington on Wednesday night, and the Wildcat football team headed up Interstate 10 to visit The School Up North in an effort to keep the Territorial Cup. It was a plethora of opportunity.

Unfortunately, Arizona Basketball got swept in the Bahamas and came home losing three games in a row. Arizona Volleyball got swept by the No. 12 Huskies Wednesday night. Earlier on Saturday, the Arizona Football team was in complete control at Sun Devil Stadium until a colossal collapse after halftime. The Sun Devils earned their one and only Territorial Cup point of the season so far from that win.

More from Wildcats Volleyball

• Charita Stubbs Signs five new Wildcats for Arizona Volleyball
• Arizona Volleyball coach Dave Rubio officially retires
• Arizona Volleyball falls to rival Arizona State in four sets
• Arizona Volleyball sweeps opening day of Wildcat Classic
• Cactus Classic Recap: Defense fuels Arizona Volleyball in Strong Start

By sundown, Arizona Wildcat fans were reeling. What had happened to our beloved teams all at once? There was one last hope for the holiday week and that was with Arizona Volleyball on Senior Night.

Whether Wildcat Volleyball knew or cared, many of us needed one last shot at the Sun Devils, one more opportunity to not just notch a win this week but to fork those Devils right back to Tempe. Arizona came out losing the first two points, but quickly turned it around and built a nice lead as the first set progressed.  They went up by as much as 20-11 and finally won set one 25-17.

Although it was Senior Night, freshman Paige Whipple was dominant with eight kills in the first set. The talented Outside Hitter from Salem, Oregon had no trouble figuring out how important it is to beat ASU if you’re a Wildcat.

Middle blocker and senior Mckenzie Jacobson started the match for the Wildcats. Arizona is more physical than the Sun Devils and her presence at the net pressured the Devils from the start. Arizona blocked often and had numerous deep kills.

And they never gave up on defense.

In the second set, Paige Whipple continued her dominance, accumulating 13 kills, seven digs, and one kill through two sets. At the break Coach Dave Rubio was not only pleased with her, but also how well the Wildcats were playing together. This season has been full of errors and to this point, the Wildcats were playing a clean match.

https://twitter.com/ArizonaVBall/status/934613630825373701

The third set saw a real push from Arizona State to get back in the match. Arizona went up 11-6, but ASU started cutting into the lead. At 15-13, Coach Rubio took a timeout. After returning to play, Arizona extended the lead to 18-13. But that wasn’t enough as ASU and Arizona were soon tied at 20-20. In no time, Arizona State had a set point at 24-23 and they won the third set 25-23 by winning five straight points. Was this to mirror the collapse we saw just a few hours ago in Tempe?

The fourth set began tightly with both teams trading points. Arizona finally went ahead 10-6, but once again ASU quickly took the lead 11-10. The Sun Devil defense really picked up in sets three and four. At 13-14, both teams battled with unbelievable blocks, digs, defense, and teamwork which resulted in the longest rally of the night. Arizona tied it up at 14. After a service ace by Kendra Dahlke, Arizona went on a run before an ASU timeout with the Wildcats up 19-14. The timeout didn’t help much; Arizona kept rolling. Finally, they were two points from victory again. This time they were victorious, winning set number four 25-17.

Let’s not forget Arizona Volleyball earned a .5 Territorial Cup point back in a very timely manner. Arizona now leads ASU 4-1.

Arizona Volleyball lost some key players to graduation after last season. The team’s play throughout this year has been inconsistent, but the building blocks exist for some great improvement next year. Kendra Dahlke will be a leader on court as a senior. Thanks to this year’s seniors–Jade Turner, Kimberly Gutierrez, and McKenzie Jacobson.

Next: The Other Battle with The School Up North Today--Arizona Football Loses to ASU

Congratulations Arizona Volleyball on sweeping ASU this year and battling all season. Study hard and we will see you in August.