Arizona Volleyball Finally sees Win Streak Come to an End

After a white-hot start to the 2018 season, the Arizona Volleyball finally dropped its first game of the season to New Mexico State.

All good things must come to an end eventually. After a white-hot start to the season, the Arizona Volleyball finally lost its first game of 2018.

Riding a six-game winning streak heading into last weekend, the Wildcats would head to Las Cruces, NM to take on Montana, UTEP and New Mexico State.

Arizona Wildcats

The Wildcats opened up the weekend action on Friday morning against Montana, where they would dominate in all three sets. Arizona won the first set 25-18 and the second 25-23 in a closer match, then closed out the match with a 25-14 win to sweep the match 3-0.

Senior outside hitter Kendra Dahlke led the way for the Wildcats with 18 kills, and setter Julia Patterson had 37 assists for the match!

The second match of the day would be a bit more competitive, when Arizona took on UTEP. The Wildcats took the first set, winning 25-21, but would need extra play in the second set as the Miners refused to go away! Luckily, Arizona was able to Bear Down and get the 28-26 victory!

UTEP would rally in the third set winning 25-20 to extend the match, where the Wildcats were then able to pull out the set victory by a 25-23 final, and securing the match with a 3-1 victory!

Sophomore outside hitter Paige Whipple and Dahlke led the way with 18 and 16 kills respectively, and Patterson added with 50 assists.

Arizona would conclude their weekend of matches versus New Mexico State on Saturday, and this one would go the way they hoped or wanted. From the start, the Wildcats looked a little out of sorts, dropping the first set by a 25-16 final.

Luckily, they responded quickly winning the second and third sets 25-17 and 25-23. Up 2-1 in the Match, Arizona just needed one more set win. Unfortunately, the Aggies wouldn’t go quietly, winning 27-25 in the fourth set, and winning the deciding set by a 15-12 final to steal the match 3-2 and handing the Wildcats their first loss of the season.

Dahlke would again lead the way in kills, totaling 30 for the game and Patterson added with 61 assists.

With the loss, the Wildcats fall to 8-1 on the year and will return to action Friday, when they play a series of matches against Tennessee-Martin, a rematch with New Mexico State and UC Davis.

At Zona Zealots, we would like to congratulate the Wildcats on the phenomenal run and wish them the best as they return to action this weekend! Bear Down, Arizona!