TUCSON, Ariz. – In its biggest victory of the 2014 season, the 14th-ranked Arizona volleyball team defeated No. 10 Oregon in four sets on Thursday night at McKale Center (25-19, 25-14, 22-25, 25-13) in front of 1,411 fans.
"It's great to get a win against a very good team and that team certainly didn't play as well as I know they can,” said head coach Dave Rubio. “They certainly didn't have the firepower that they usually have offensively. Traveling is hard and we know that first hand. I thought we were well prepared and we served really well which dictated the match for us."
The Wildcats improved to 20-7 (9-6 Pac-12) and claimed sole possession of third place in the Pac-12 with the victory.
“I thought everybody came to play tonight on our team,” said senior outside hitter Madi Kingdon. “All of our hitters were on tonight, everyone's defense was good, Penina had great defense, I think everything clicked for us tonight defense, hitting, everything was going our way.”
Arizona dominated at the net, outblocking Oregon 17.0-5.0, the most blocks this season by the Wildcats. Rachel Rhoades led the way with 10 blocks, one off her career mark, while Madi Kingdon added five, her most this season.
"Our blocking was terrific,” said Rubio. “You take a strong offense like Oregon and limit them down to one option and that makes it easier for us to defend. It was easier to defend because they only had one person passing and we were able to position well."
The Wildcats also had an advantage at the service line, where UA had six aces to Oregon's two. Arizona also had half as many service errors (4-to-8).
"Normally they are an exceptional team when it comes to passing,” said Rubio. “Liz Brenner may be one of the best six rotation passers in the league and she struggled tonight. We served well tonight, we were aggressive, we moved the ball well and all those things definitely made a difference for us."
Kingdon had her third consecutive dominant game, racking up 25 kills, two shy of her career high, on a .266 hitting percentage. The senior is now one double-digit-kill match away from tying the Arizona record with 105 career 10-plus-kill matches. The Phoenix, Ariz. native added 16 digs for her third consecutive double-double, and 11th of the season. Kingdon also tallied five blocks and two service aces.
UA's defense was impressive once again, holding Oregon to a .058 hitting percentage in the match. In addition to the season-high 17 blocks, Arizona also registered 8- digs in the match, led by 20 from Penina Snuka. The setter added 33 assists for her 20th double-double of the year.
“One of our great strengths as a team is defense,” said sophomore setter Penina Snuka. “The more we can keep the play going, the longer the rally, the better for us.”
The Wildcats were dominant in the match, holding the 10th-ranked Ducks under 20 points in all but one set. This returned the favor for Oregon's similar victory in Eugene earlier this season when the Ducks dominated (25-17, 25-12, 25-19).
After the teams split the first 20 points of the match, Arizona went on a 3-0 run to break the tie, later extending the lead to six as UA took the opening set 25-19. Arizona held Oregon to a .147 hitting percentage in the set and capitalized on four OU serving errors.
"It was a little sloppy in game one,” said Rubio. “We had a lot of unforced errors; both teams had a lot of errors but fortunately for us they had more than we did."
Arizona scored five of the second set's first six points and never looked back. UA recorded eight blocks in the set (including three consecutive points late in the game). Arizona dominated the second set 25-14.
After Oregon came out of the break strong, scoring the third set's first three points, UA went on an 8-1 run. The Ducks would come back, taking a 19-17 lead before Arizona tied the set at 20. Oregon would win a close third set 25-23.
The Cats were able to halt Oregon's momentum heading into the fourth by opening the set on an 8-1 run. UA would take a 16-6 lead before the Ducks went on a 4-1 run. It would
Arizona is back in action on Sunday when it takes on Oregon State at McKale at noon.
For continued coverage of Arizona volleyball, visit www.arizonawildcats.com and be sure to follow the team on Twitter (https://www.twitter.com/arizonavball) as well as check out the team's YouTube account (https://www.youtube.com/user/arizonavolleyball)
