TUCSON - Nineteenth-ranked Arizona defeated Washington State in four sets on Friday night in McKale (25-14, 27-29, 25-23, 25-22) for its second straight victory and a season sweep of the Cougars.
"It was a hard-fought match tonight," said head coach Dave Rubio. "Washington State was really good. They're so athletic and it's scary what they're going to be in the future. It's a good win, but it was hard."
Tyler Spriggs posted a career-high 18 kills and Penina Snuka stuffed the stat sheet with her Pac-12-leading 15th double-double of the year. Snuka posted 42 assists and 23 digs to go along with three blocks and two aces.
"Tyler carried us," said Rubio. "We had a few people step in and really play well for us with Kalei (Mau) having an abnormal match. I'm proud of Kalei, she hung in there. Liz Inch was terrific, Tyler played well, Penina hung in there and Laura Larson really helped out quite a bit."
Arizona racked up 81 digs, the most since digging 89 balls in UA's five-set victory in Pullman earlier this year. Snuka led the way with her 23 digs while Laura Larson (14), Elizabeth Inch (10) and McKenna Painton (10) also provided double-digit dig matches. Larson's 14 marked her eighth straight double-digit-dig match while Inch's 10 were a career high. Snuka is now just 49 digs from becoming Arizona's all-time leader in digs by a setter.
With Kalei Mau, who entered the match third in the Pac-12 and 16th in the country in kills/set, struggling with eight kills on a -.065 hitting percentage, Arizona needed its other hitters to step up.
Spriggs answered the calling with 18 while Nikki Attea and McKenzie Jacobson both tied season highs with 15 and 12 kills, respectively. Jacobson led Arizona with a .375 hitting percentage on the night.
"When Kalei is not on we have to try to find offense in other places," said Rubio. "And tonight we were able to do that."
The victory marked the first time since Sept. 11 and 12 that Arizona won back-to-back matches. UA will try to go for three straight and get to .500 in conference play when it welcomes third-ranked Washington to McKale on Sunday. The Cats fell to the Huskies in four sets in Seattle earlier this season.
"Washington is really good," said Rubio. "They're No. 3 in the country and certainly deserving of that ranking. We'll be well-prepared and we'll lay it on the line."
Arizona used an 8-0 run served by Laura Larson to turn a 9-8 deficit into a 16-9 lead and the Cats ran away with the first, limiting the Cougars to an -.075 hitting percentage in UA's 25-14 victory. Arizona's middles, McKenzie Jacobson and Halli Amaro, combined for seven kills on 11 errorless swings.
After Arizona opened the second up 5-1, Washington State responded with a 5-1 run of its own, setting the tone for a very closely contested second set. Washington State broke away with a run to make it 20-17. The Cougars had three set points at 24-21, but the Cats fought them all off to tie the set at 24. UA would earn two set points of its own, but could not close, as Washington State won the second set 29-27.
The third set was similarly closely contested, with Washington State fighting back from an early deficit to tie Arizona at 22 all. The Cats scored three of the set's final four points to win 25-23 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Washington State came out firing on all cylinders in the fourth, forcing Arizona to use both timeouts seven points into the set. Arizona used runs of 5-0 and 6-1 to tie the second set after the early six-point deficit. The Cats ran away at the end, downing the Cougars 25-22 in the fourth to win the match.
Up Next: Arizona goes for its third straight victory when it takes on No. 3 Washington at McKale on Sunday at noon. The match will be televised by the Pac-12 Networks.
Follow Arizona Volleyball: For further coverage of Arizona volleyball, visit ArizonaWildcats.com and follow the team's Twitter and Instagram accounts (@ArizonaVBall).
