TUCSON – Arizona swept Alabama State and SMU to open the Wildcat Classic on Friday. The Cats earned their first two victories of the season, improving to 2-3 on the year.
 
Match 1 - ARIZONA 3, ALABAMA STATE 0 (25-12, 25-14, 25-12)
 
The Wildcats hit .432 and limited Alabama State to an .080 hitting percentage as the Cats cruised to a 3-0 win over the Hornets in Arizona's Wildcat Classic opener (25-12, 25-14, 25-12).
 
Kendra Dahlke led the way for the Cats, posting 18 kills on .500 hitting. She added eight digs and two blocks. Katarina Pilepic needed just eight swings to net seven kills.
 
Arizona hit a remarkable .480 and Arizona dominated the opening set over Alabama State, 25-12. Eleven swings between Katarina Pilepic and Kendra Dahlke produced 10 of Arizona's 15 kills in the first set.
 
Dahlke backed up her six-kill performance in the first with another six-kill effort in the second. The Cats hit .458 and dominated the set, 25-14, to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
UA cruised to a 25-12 victory in the third set to sweep the match.
 
Match 2 – ARIZONA, 3 SMU 0 (25-11, 25-21, 25-21)
 
Kendra Dahlke (13), Kalei Mau (12) and Katarina Pilepic (10) recorded double-digit kills and Arizona swept SMU in the nightcap.
 
Dahlke recorded her first career double-double with 13 digs to go along with her fourth double-digit kill match of the season. Mau also had a double-double with 17 digs. Laura Larson led the way with 20 digs. UA had 72 as a team.
 
The Wildcats dominated from the service line, serving seven aces, three of which were by Penina Snuka. The senior had 38 digs, five digs and two kills as well.
 
Arizona and SMU were dead even at nine in the first set when the Wildcats broke away. UA scored 12 straight points and 14 of the set's final 16 points to win the opener 25-11.
 
SMU was resilient early in the second set, but the Cats used another run to separate themselves, again after a 9-9 tie. UA scored four straight and then held off SMU to win the second set, 25-21.
 
The Cats won a closely contested third set 25-21 to close out the match.
 
UP NEXT: Arizona closes out the Wildcat Classic on Saturday night vs. Pepperdine at 7 p.m. MST.
 
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