BROOKLYN, N.Y. – No. 13 Arizona split a pair of contests in the final day of the Blackbird Invitational, defeating LIU Brooklyn in straight sets (25-19, 25-20, 25-16) before dropping its first match of the season in its first matchup with a ranked opponent to No. 15 Ohio State in four (25-22, 22-25, 25-22, 29-27).
Kalei Mau set a career-high in kills vs. LIU Brooklyn with 18 before besting that effort vs. Ohio State with 22. She was named to the all-tournament team along with Penina Snuka, who had a double-double (48 assists, 15 digs) vs. Ohio State.
Match 1 – Arizona 3, LIU Brooklyn 0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-16)
Thirteenth-ranked Arizona swept LIU Brooklyn, the host of the Blackbird Invitational (25-19, 25-20, 25-16) to improve to 8-0 on the season for the fifth time in school history.
Kalei Mau led the way with a career-high 18 kills on .317 hitting. UA hit .280 as a team while limiting the Blackbirds to .155 hitting.
Tyler Spriggs was another essential piece of the offense as the freshman totaled seven kills on .462 hitting.
Penina Snuka ran the offense with 37 assists and missed out on her fourth double-double by just a single dig as Snuka had nine of Arizona's 51 digs. MacKenzie Kleespies tied a career mark with a team-high 17 digs.
Halli Amaro led Arizona with four blocks while also providing five kills. Arizona outblocked LIU Brooklyn 7-4 in the contest.
Arizona's 8-0 start is its best since beginning the 2009 campaign 12-0.
The Wildcats and Blackbirds battled in the first two sets, with UA coming up with narrow 25-19 and 25-20 victories in the first and second sets, respectively. UA broke away in the third to pick up a 25-16 victory in the decisive set.
Match 2 – No. 15 Ohio State 3, No. 13 Arizona 1 (25-25, 22-25, 25-22, 29-27)
In a slugfest between two top-15 opponents, No. 15 Ohio State got the best of No. 13 Arizona, handing the Wildcats their first loss of the season in a four-set thriller (25-22, 22-25, 25-22, 29-27).
All four sets were battles until the end, featuring little separation between the two teams.
Both teams combined for 182 digs, split evenly between the two clubs, resulting in many long, intense rallies. Five Wildcats posted double-digit digs, including a team-high 22 from MacKenzie Kleespies, a new career high for the senior. Penina Snuka added 15 digs while also assisting 48 kills, good for her fourth double-double of the year.
Just hours after setting a career-high with 18 kills vs. LIU Brooklyn, Kalei Mau upped the ante with 23 against the Buckeyes. Mau was one of three Cats in double digits; Halli Amaro and Nikki Attea produced 10 kills each.
Attack errors plagued the Wildcats throughout the match, as UA posted a season-high 30 while hitting a season-low .173. Fourteen of the 30 attack errors were OSU blocks as the Buckeyes out-blocked Arizona 14-7.
The first three sets ended in 25-22 results, two of which went the way of the Buckeyes, putting Arizona in need of a fourth-set victory to extend the match.
Ohio State opened the fourth set strong, extending its lead to as many as six early. The Wildcats chipped away before tying the set at 17 and eventually taking a one-point lead. UA earned set point at 24-23. The Buckeyes fought back, and after the teams exchanged points, Ohio State finally broke free, downing Arizona 29-27 in the fourth to win the match.
Up Next: The Wildcats welcome No. 4 Texas along with New Mexico State and Savannah State for the Wildcat Classic (Sept. 18-19) to conclude nonconference play.
Follow Arizona Volleyball: For further coverage of Arizona volleyball, visit ArizonaWildcats.com and follow the team's Twitter and Instagram accounts (@ArizonaVBall).
