TUCSON, Ariz.--- Penina Snuka recorded her conference-leading 18th double-double of the season, while Laura Larson recorded her 12th consecutive double-digit dig performance with a match-high of 16, but it wasn't enough as top-ranked Southern California bested No. 23 Arizona 3-1 (25-14, 25-22, 22-25, 25-20) on Friday night inside McKale Center.
Despite the defeat, Snuka made history, as her 14 digs on the night gives her 1,142 in her career, which now ranks 10th all-time in school history. She's now just four digs shy of Dana Burkholder (1998-01, 1,146) for ninth on the all-time list and just four digs short of claiming the most digs all-time for a UA setter.
Junior Kalei Mau led UA with 19 kills, while collecting eight digs, and two blocks, including recording three consecutive kills to clinch Arizona's third set victory.
Senior Halli Amaro also kept her solid play up, as she recorded 10 kills and a team-best four blocks after producing a record-setting performance last time out, giving her 405 for her career.
The Trojans (28-1, 16-1 Pac-12) proved why they're considered the top team in the land right from the get go, as they raced out to an 8-2 advantage to start the match, eventually concluding in a 25-14 first set victory.
However, the Wildcats (17-12, 7-10 Pac-12) wouldn't go down easy, as they came out with a sense of urgency in begin the second frame, winning seven of the first eight points to claim a 7-1 advantage early. USC then went on a run of its own to eventually claim a 19-15 lead, but again the Cats would respond with another 7-1 burst to cut the deficit to just 23-22.
The run turned out to be too little too late for Arizona, as USC eventually closed out the second set 25-22 to claim a commanding 2-0 advantage in the match.
But once again, Arizona did what it's done all year long, rallying once again with its back against the wall. The Cats jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the must-win third frame, before eventually claiming the 25-22 set victory thanks in large part to Mau's heroics.
UA tried to do rally once again in the fourth set, getting things as close as 21-19 late, but in the end USC just had a little too much, eventually claiming the 25-20 victory to clinch the set and the match.
The Wildcats will close out the brief two-match homestand on Sunday, as they'll take on No. 11 UCLA at noon inside McKale Center.
ARIZONA POSTMATCH QUOTES
Head coach Dave Rubio
Opening statement
"Frustrating night, but that's a good team and certainly deserves the ranking. We certainly put ourselves in the position to have a different type of outcome, but you have to play better when it counts and we didn't"
On what he told the players after the match
"I told them the same thing I've told them all year long, which is where we are in the match has no relevance on how we are going to execute on the next play. It is not about winning the match, it is all about trying to execute on your touch. If you do that then we will win enough rallies and get enough points to put ourselves in the position to win the game or set. That is why we were able to kind of come back after a blowout in game one, be pretty competitive in game two and then come back and win game three. We certainly were in a good position in game four, but in the middle of the game things kind of got away from us. We are not a great passing team because we are a two-person serve-receive and it puts a lot of pressure on the littles to be able to pass the ball well enough for us to be on offense. The good news is that, I thought Kalei started off poorly and got better as the match went on. Tyler really played well tonight and really got after it, as a freshman I thought she was terrific. Kendra did a nice job for Nikki. I feel like we are playing better. Tonight was the first night in a while where I felt like they were playing together without thinking about the play or the game."
On missed serves
"There were just to many missed serves, especially in set one. The idea is when you practice, you practice with the same type of aggression, determination and mindset. Just because you are playing USC doesn't mean you have to raise your level a notch, it doesn't work that way. It happens in practice every day and if you do it every single day in practice then it is pretty easy to do in a match."
Senior Kalei Mau
On problems early
“When I first started I was being overly aggressive. I think I just needed to get myself into the rhythm. The mistakes that I did make were easily identifiable and coach told me to keep swinging and that they were smart shots. I think I mainly needed to get back into my rhythm and do what I do best which is put something behind the ball and keep it in play.”
Senior Halli Amaro
On big third set
“Each set is important in its own way and I think the fact that we were able to come back after the break and win the set means a lot. It shows what we are doing, what we are trying to accomplish, and that we are going in an upwards direction. We've had a rough last couple weeks, but I think being able to win that set almost solidifies what we've been doing the last week.”
On what can be taken from this match heading into the contest vs. No. 11 UCLA on Sunday
“I think we just need to clean it up. Coach was saying that we were right there against the number one team in the country and taking a set off of them means a lot. He wants us to know that we are very close to being where we need to be, so I think that we just need to carry over the momentum, fix our little errors, and I think it will be a good night.”
