ARIZONA 3, #12 STANFORD 1 (25-21, 28-26, 25-27, 25-21)
Friday, October 14 | 8 p.m. MST
Recap | Box Score


ARIZONA (12-6, 4-2 Pac-12) at CALIFORNIA (7-9, 1-5 Pac-12)
Sunday, October 16 | 12 p.m. MST
Pac-12 Networks | Live Stats | Live Updates | Arizona Notes | California Notes
 

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CATS AT A GLANCE

• Arizona hits the road for two more matches after an impressive road trip last weekend. The Wildcats did something they had never done: defeat both USC and UCLA on the road. The Wildcats' swept No. 22 USC and then came from two sets down to defeat No. 18 UCLA in thrilling fashion. Arizona will look to keep the momentum rolling from southern California to northern California as the Cats take on Stanford and Cal in the Bay this weekend.
• After three weeks, Arizona is in a four-way tie for second in the Pac-12 at 4-2. Just two games separate the top eight teams in the league. The Pac-12 currently has eight of the top 29 teams in the NCAA RPI.
• Looking for an explanation of Arizona's sweep in L.A. last weekend? Look no further than its health. Arizona's top three scorers (Kendra Dahlke - concussion; Kalei Mau - dislocated shoulder, slipped disc; Katarina Pilepic - broken finger) have all missed extended time this year, and were all on the court for the first time at "full" health together for the first time.
• Arizona's success this season can be traced to where it all starts: serve and pass. In Arizona's 10 wins, UA is averaging 1.78 aces/set while in losses, the Cats are averaging just 0.92 per set. Additionally, in losses the Cats have allowed 1.25 aces/set compared to just 0.71/set in victories.
• All six of Arizona's losses this season have come to teams currently ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25. Over the last three years, Arizona is 47-7 (.870) vs. unranked competition and 8-23 (.258) vs. ranked teams.
• Arizona's opponents (future and past matches) have a combined record of 249-130 (.657), making the Wildcats' schedule the ninth hardest in the country.
• Earlier this season, Penina Snuka became the fifth player in school history to surpass the 4,000 career assist plateau, and has since moved into third in Wildcat history with 4,409. Now, Snuka will turn her sites on the 5,000-assist club, where on only one other Wildcat resides: Dana Burkholder (5,424 career assists).
• Kendra Dahlke is enjoying a breakout campaign in her sophomore year. After averaging 1.57 kills/set as a freshman with four double-digit kill matches, Dahlke leads the Wildcats with 4.02 kills/set and has had 10-or-more kills in 14 of the 16 matches she has played in. Dahkle is third in the Pac-12 in kills.
• 2016 marks the 25th season as the head coach of the Wildcats for Dave Rubio, the conference's active leader victories as a Pac-10/12 coach (465). In 2016, the team will celebrate his quarter century of excellence, which includes a 2000 Pac-10 championship and a trip to the 2001 Final Four.

 
THIS WEEK: Coming off a historic weekend in Los Angeles, Arizona (12-6, 4-2 Pac-12) continues its California road swing and its stretch of matches vs. ranked opponents this weekend in the Bay Area. Arizona is set to play its third and fourth consecutive road match and, when UA meets Stanford, its fourth straight match vs. a ranked opponent. After defeating USC and UCLA on the road for the first time in school history, the Wildcats will look to carry that momentum into meetings with Stanford and Cal.
 
After ending its southern California drought, the Wildcats will look to end one against Stanford. Arizona has not defeated the Cardinal since 2005, a 19-match winning streak for Stanford. Meanwhile, UA has won four straight vs. California.
 
OPPONENTS
Stanford: The 12th-ranked Cardinal (10-4, 4-2 Pac-12) has dropped two of its last three matches after a 9-2 start to the year ... Five of Stanford's 10 victories have come against top-10 competition ... Stanford leads the conference in blocking (3.52/set) and has four players who average more than a block per set ... Inky Ajanaku leads the way for the Cardinal, averaging 2.62 kills/set on .382 hitting and 1.59 blocks/set.
 
California: The Bears (7-9, 1-5 Pac-12) earned their first Pac-12 win of the season last Sunday, defeating No. 19 Colorado in four sets in Boulder ... Cal has taken sets off the two highest ranked teams it has played this year - Stanford and Washington ... Alyssa Jensen is second in the Pac-12 in assists/set (10.27).
 
RANKINGS: Arizona received the 26th-most votes in this week's AVCA Top 25.
 
STARING AT THE STATS: Entering Sunday, no Pac-12 team had more than 90 digs in a match. That changed when Arizona (98) and UCLA (102) combined for 200 digs in the five-set thriller. Five different Wildcats had more than 10 digs, led by Penina Snuka's 25 ... The Wildcats are second in the Pac-12 in aces/set with 1.46. Penina Snuka is fourth in the league with 0.37/set and freshman Makenna Martin is ninth (0.25/set) ... In six Pac-12 matches, Arizona is averaging 16.79 digs/set, up from 14.49/set in nonconference matches. UA is second in digs/set in Pac-12 play ... Kalei Mau picked up career kill No. 700 in special fashion - the match-clinching kill in the fifth set at UCLA.
 
SETTING THE TONE: All-conference setter Penina Snuka has excelled in her three-plus seasons as the Wildcats' setter. Snuka has been an honorable mention All-American each of the last two seasons. Snuka has led the Pac-12 in double-doubles in each of her three seasons at Arizona (2013 - 19, 2014 - 25, 2015 - 22) and has 10 in 2016, second in the conference. Snuka is currently third in Arizona history with 4,409 assists and is Arizona's top digging setter (second overall) with 1,405 digs.
 
CAN YOU DIG IT? After leading the conference in digs each of the last three years, Arizona is fifth this year, averaging 15.32 digs/set. Laura Larson is ninth in the league, averaging 3.69 digs/set. The senior has double-digit digs in 30 of Arizona's last 33 matches.
 
WHAT SOPHOMORE SLUMP? After averaging 1.57 kills/set as a part-time player in 2015, Kendra Dahlke has burst onto the scene in a big way as a sophomore. Dahlke leads Arizona with 4.02 kills/set and has had double-digit kills in 14 of her 16 matches. In 2015, she had four total double-digit kill efforts. Dahlke is third in the Pac-12 in both kills/set (4.02) and points/set (4.48).
 
PUTTING THE TEAM ON HER BACK: In the 43 matches that Kalei Mau has played in since the start of 2015, she has led the team (or tied for the team lead) in kills in 33 of those matches. Mau's nine 20-plus kill matches in that span rank 10th in a career in Arizona history.
 
ACE IN THE HOLE: Arizona leads the Pac-12 with 95 aces after finishing in the bottom third of the conference each of the last three years. The Wildcats' 95 aces are nearing their 2015 total of 104. Four Wildcats have double digit aces: Penina Snuka (24), Laura Larson (15), Makenna Martin (13) and Katarina Pilepic (11).
 
PERFECT 10: Arizona's 2016 recruiting class was ranked as the 10th best class in the country by PrepVolleyball.com. The Cats have seven freshmen, including two top-100 recruits (#60 Shardonee Hayes & #67 Julia Patterson).
 
A CLASS OF THEIR OWN: Arizona's senior class has won 75 matches, with the opportunity to become the winningest class in over a decade. Should the 2016 team win 18 games, it will make the senior class the winningest in Arizona history since the 2003 class won 90. These seniors are trying to become Arizona's first to make four NCAA Tournament appearances since the 2005 class capped off Arizona's run of 10 straight NCAA Tournaments.
 
FOLLOW THE CATS: Get a behind-the-scenes look at the Arizona volleyball team on its various social media accounts to keep up with the Cats all season long.
 
Twitter: @ArizonaVBall
Instagram: @ArizonaVBall
YouTube: Arizona Volleyball
 
UP NEXT: The Wildcats return home to host Washington State (Oct. 21) and Washington (Oct. 23) next weekend for a pair of likely top-15 opponents.