TUCSON, Ariz. -- Twenty-fourth-ranked Arizona swept No. 25 UCLA in dominant fashion on Sunday afternoon at McKale Center (25-13, 25-22, 25-15), picking up UA's first sweep over a ranked team since Oct. 16, 2017 (#15 USC).

The victory gave Arizona its 18th 20-win season in program history, and fourth time in the last six years. The Cats will enter the final week of the regular season 20-10 overall (9-9 Pac-12), with nine more victories than last season (11). This is already Arizona's largest win improvement since 1992 (10 wins) to 1993 (20 wins), head coach Dave Rubio's first and second seasons in Tucson.

The Wildcats, who had 14 more kills than the Bruins in the match, out-hit the visitors .325 to .206 on the afternoon. Kendra Dahlke led the Wildcats with 20 kills, marking her 16th 20-kill match in her career, accomplishing the feat on .372 hitting. Dahlke added a solo block, an ace and eight digs.

Four Wildcats hit at least .360 on the night, led by Devyn Cross, who posted 10 kills on .750 hitting in the match, her fifth match this year with at least 10 kills. Shardonee Hayes had four kills on .375 hitting, Dahlke posted 20 kills on .372 hitting and Candice Denny notched four kills on .364 hitting.

Julia Patterson ran the offense to perfection. The junior posted 36 assists and 13 digs in the three sets, extending her double-double streak to 10 straight matches, giving her 18 for the season, the most in the Pac-12.

The victory over the Bruins extended a streak of now eight straight seasons that Arizona has knocked off either USC or UCLA while they have been ranked. UCLA fell to 13-12, 8-10 Pac-12.

By Set
(S1: Arizona 25, UCLA 13): Arizona dominated the first set, hitting .389 to UCLA's .118 mark. The Cats, led by eight kills from Kendra Dahlke, won the opening set, 25-13.

(S2: Arizona 25, UCLA 22): The second set seemed to be well in hand for the Wildcats, who led the Bruins 20-12. UCLA scored 10 of the next 12 to tie the second set at 22 before the Cats finished off the set with three straight points. Kendra Dahlke once again led the Cats in kills with seven.

(S3: Arizona 25, UCLA 15): The Wildcats won the third set, 25-15 to sweep the match.

Quotes

Head Coach Dave Rubio
On the biggest difference between the performance vs. USC and the performance against UCLA…
"I wasn't happy with how we played on Friday. I know it was close but I was disappointed with how we weren't connecting with each other. The chemistry was a little off and that was the first time this season I've really seen that. I felt like if we had better communication with one another the result would have been different but that was the biggest difference. UCLA was banged up, they were missing some starters. That's tough when your starting center is out. So if we lose Julia [Patterson], you have two hands behind your back, versus if we lose Kendra [Dahlke], we've got one arm behind our back. Their setter was out and their outside hitter was out, so it was a tough matchup for those guys. Both those kids were playing against ASU and for whatever reason, health wise they weren't able to make it tonight."

On practice yesterday…
"Every year regardless of what sport you play, you're always at a crossroads during the season, sometimes its early, sometimes it's late. Depending on how you handle those crises, and I really thought Friday was a crisis for us. I hadn't seen us be that selfish with one another, that's the best way to put it. We were able to work through some of that yesterday. This is a terrific group of young ladies. What makes it easy is that if I say something, 99% of the time they're going do it or make their best effort to do it. We had a lengthy discussion and hopefully, we're on the right track. Today certainly showed that.

On winning the long rallies today….
"We're a really good team. I think anyone who knows us knows that we can organize and function at a pretty high level. We're not overly physical, and overall we're not a team that can bring a lot of physicality to the table. We're a team that can function really well and get organized really well with skilled players. When we're doing our thing and we're connected, our chemistry is really good, and when we aren't in synch, it's really hard to compete with those upper level teams.

Junior Libero Makenna Martin
On her leg injury…
"We're getting it there. I do a pool workout every morning but it is still tight and tender. It is a muscle injury, so I just have to have a positive mindset."
 
On adjusting from Friday's mistakes…
" [Arizona head coach Dave Rubio] addressed the issue of not playing as one team in the locker room after Friday night's match. We had a meeting Saturday after practice as a team to get on the same page for today. Rita had a great talk with us, showing us how great we can be if we come together. We put everything aside and re-bought into the system. I think it was really important that we all did that today, and it definitely showed."
 
On what it will take to make NCAA tournament…
"I think if we keep playing as one unit we can beat anybody. As long as we stay positive and play as one, we don't need to be worried."

Junior Middle Blocker Devyn Cross
On when the team is not in sync…
"It's dead when we don't work as a team. It's obvious to everybody when we are not in rhythm and not connecting like we usually do. Everybody gets into their own head. I, personally, think I am pulling myself out of it by talking more, however in reality I am silent. It's just really dead, but today we worked as one and it was obvious."
 
On being a cheerleader to her teammates…
"That is how I am as a person. It was not a team assignment, that is just how I am. I have been told that I am vibrant."
 
On the front line…
"We spend a lot of time blocking in practice. It really helps us to have constant repetition. At this point, it is second nature. Put your hands up and be strong."

Keep Up with the Cats
For more information on tickets, visit www.arizonawildcats.com/VB. Build your best game day experience at Arizona Volleyball and visit the Arizona Volleyball Game Day Central page. Be sure to follow the team on Twitter and Instagram to keep up with team.

Up Next
Arizona will take on California (Wednesday) in McKale on senior day to kick off the final week of the regular season.