PULLMAN, Wash. - Ten days after her 3,000th career assist, Penina Snuka picked up her 1,000th dig for the Wildcats, as she posted 16 of Arizona's 89 in the contest, helping lead the Wildcats to a hard-fought five-set victory over Washington State (25-18, 18-25, 25-23, 16-25, 15-13).
Defense was the story on Friday night, as both teams hit under .160 for the match. Arizona hit .141 in the match, its second lowest of the season and lowest in a victory in nearly exactly two years in the same gym when the Cats defeated Washington State in five sets while hitting .124 on Oct. 13, 2013.
Washington State hit .159 in the match, becoming Arizona's 11th opponent to be held under .160 this season.
UA's defense was phenomenal, posting 89 digs and 11 blocks, none bigger than Tyler Spriggs' solo stuff to end the match, giving Arizona a 15-13 win in the fifth.
Laura Larson posted a career-high 22 digs to lead the way.
On a night where her hitters struggled to find consistency, Snuka took things into her own hands on seven occasions, tying a career-high with seven kills on .500 hitting. The junior posted 46 assists and 16 digs for her fifth straight double-double.
McKenzie Jacobson posted six blocks and 11 kills as Arizona's most efficient hitter, posting a .320 hitting percentage.
Kalei Mau once again hit the 20-kill mark, her seventh in Arizona's last 11 matches, posting 21 kills, but needed a career-high-tying 74 attempts to do so. The junior hit just .081 in the match.
It was a quick start for Arizona, which dominated the first set from the beginning. UA hit .410 in the first set and cruised to a 25-18 victory despite a late 4-0 run from the Cougars.
UA led in the early stages of the second set before an 8-1 run from Washington State put the Cougars ahead 14-10. Washington State ran away from there, winning the set with ease, 25-18.
Washington State was cruising in the third. The Cougars led Arizona 20-15 until a 9-2 Arizona run turned things around as the Cats went on to take the third 25-23.
The Cougars dominated the fourth, 25-16.
Washington State carried the momentum to a 10-6 lead in the fifth before Arizona responded with the next four points to tie the set at 10. UA took a brief 13-12 lead, its first lead of the set since 1-0, but Washington State earned deuce with the next point. UA scored the match's final two points to win the match in five sets.
Up Next: Arizona remains on the road as the Cats will head to L.A. next week. UA takes on No. 12 UCLA on Friday, Oct. 16 before taking on top-ranked USC on Sunday, Oct. 18.
Follow Arizona Volleyball: For further coverage of Arizona volleyball, visit ArizonaWildcats.com and follow the team's Twitter and Instagram accounts (@ArizonaVBall).
