After dropping game one in their weekend action, Arizona Volleyball returns to action against No. 15 UCLA to take on the Bruins in Los Angeles.
Following an electric weekend of volleyball in McKale Center last weekend, Arizona Volleyball returned to action in Los Angeles this week, facing off against the No. 15 ranked UCLA Bruins.
Coming into this weekend, the matchup against UCLA will make this the ninth and 10th games out of 12 for the Wildcats in which they have faced a team that was ranked in the Top 25 at some point.
Arizona Wildcats
On Friday, the Wildcats began the action of this two-game weekend by getting off to a hot start, winning the first set 26-24.
However, the Bruins then responded by winning the second set in dominating fashion, controlling the set from the start, before cruising to the 25-18 win to tie the game at 1-1.
Looking for a strong response, Arizona would remain neck-and-neck with UCLA for much of the third set, even pulling ahead with a 15-12 lead, but unfortunately, the Bruins would respond, keeping the match close and eventually pulling out the 25-22 victory.
Down 2-1 in the match, Arizona would fall behind early in the third set, as UCLA climbed out to a 12-5 lead, but luckily, the Wildcats responded, rallying right back to tie it, even taking a lead at 16-13.
Hoping to push it to a fifth and final set, unfortunately, the Bruins refused to go away in this one, eventually regaining the lead at 22-21 before picking up the eventual 27-25 victory, to win the game by a 3-1 final.
International talents look to continue the wave of momentum for Arizona Volleyball, as the Wildcats hope to rebound in game two.
One thing that has been a standard for Arizona Athletics’ success in 2021 has been the impact of international talents starring inside the McKale Center. With the basketball programs receiving big contributions with talent from Canada, Lithuania, Estonia, and Spain among others, the Wildcats are becoming their own model UN if you will.
The volleyball program has its impactful talents as well, and the Wildcats have searched far and wide to find the best talent possible.
Led by the likely odds-on favorite for Freshman of the Year, Sofia Maldonado Diaz from Mexico. Add in Dilara Gedikoglu of Turkey who has recently taken a more prevalent role, and Merle Weidt of Germany who can pop in at a moment’s notice and make an impact off the bench.
With the recruiting efforts by Dave Rubio this off-season, suddenly you have an influx of experience and depth that other programs around the country will become the envy of in the coming years.
Herman pushing Maldonado Diaz for Top Freshman Honors
While Maldonado Diaz has largely been garnering all the accolades for the stellar freshman class that Rubio has brought in, she may not be the most impactful. Working seemingly in the shadows has been Emery Herman.
Emery has been nothing short of spectacular through her first 10 matches, as she already ranks eighth in the Pac-12 with 8.5 assists/set. She has continued to progress at an incredible rate, which has allowed Maldonado Diaz, Jaelyn Hodge, and the rest of the Wildcats to start to make waves within the Pac-12.
Coming off a big weekend where Herman put up 77 assists, 5 aces, and 3 blocks, we look for Herman to take yet another big step forward as she and the Wildcats hope to rebound after falling to UCLA in game one in this weekend’s action.
While neither game this weekend will be televised, you can catch both games on UCLA’s Pac-12 Plus feed, which can easily be found as well as the live stats here. Bear Down, Arizona!