THE GAMES (Times MST)
Match 7 | Friday, Sept. 7 |  3,  0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-14) | Recap | Box Score
Match 8 | Friday, Sept. 7 |  3,  1 (25-21, 28-26, 20-25, 25-23) | Recap | Box Score
Match 9 | Saturday, Sept. 8 (11 a.m.) |  at  | Live Stream | Live Stats | Twitter Updates
 

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ARIZONA TO HEAD TO LAS CRUCES FOR FINAL NONCONFERENCE ROAD TRIP
Coming off a 3-0 week at home, the Wildcats will take their perfect 6-0 record to Las Cruces, New Mexico for the Borderland Invitational, hosted by New Mexico State. Three matches await the Wildcats over the two-day tournament. On Friday, the Wildcats will face Montana (9 a.m.) and UTEP (3 p.m.) before concluding the event on Saturday vs. the host Aggies at 11 a.m. MST. The Wildcats are looking for their first 9-0 start since the 2009 Wildcats won their first 12 matches.

QUICK HITS

• After winning both the Hornet Invitational and Cactus Classic championships, Arizona is 6-0 for the first time since 2015 and ninth time in program history. 
• Arizona went 3-0 at the home-opening Cactus Classic in Tucson last weekend. The Wildcats needed the minimum nine sets to sweep the tournament, defeating Lipscomb, San Diego State and Pacific in straight sets.
• Kendra Dahlke (6.00 kills/set, .320 hit%, 2.67 digs/set) was named Cactus Classic Most Valuable Player, her second consecutive and fourth career tournament MVP honor. Julia Patterson (11.22 assists/set, 2.11 digs/set, 0.44 aces/set) and Devyn Cross (2.44 kills/set, .514 hit%, 0.89 blocks/set) were named to the all-tournament team for the second straight week.
• Dahlke leads the Pac-12 and is second in the NCAA in both kills (5.76/set) and points (6.00). Last weekend, she surpassed the 1,000 kill mark for her career, becoming the 18th player in school history to reach the mark. She currently sits at 1,042 kills, 147 shy of cracking the UA career top 10.
• Buoyed by a .463 hitting percentage in its season-opening sweep of CSUN, Arizona's highest hitting percentage in a season-opener in school history and sixth highest overall, the Wildcats are hitting .290 for the season, second best in the Pac-12 and 12th best nationally. Devyn Cross leads the team with a .375 hitting percentage, ninth highest in the league. 
• Head coach Dave Rubio is closing in on 500 victories in his Arizona career. His 496 wins are the most by an active Pac-12 coach. If he accomplishes it, he will become the second coach in conference history to reach 500 wins as a Pac-12 coach. Andy Banachowksi (UCLA; 1970-2009) is the league's all-time leader with 619 wins.
• Arizona's offense ranks second in the Pac-12 in kills (14.95/set), assists (13.48/set) and hitting percentage (.290) and first in hitting percentage (.285) after finishing 11th, 11th and 12th, respectively, in the league in 2017.
• The Wildcats have held each of their last four opponents under .200 hitting. Overall, UA's opponents are hitting just .171 for the year, fifth best in the Pac-12.
• Arizona is looking to return to the NCAA Tournament in 2018. Prior to missing the tournament last year, UA had been to seven of the previous eight NCAA Tournaments, highlighted by a Sweet 16 run in 2016. In all, Arizona has been to the NCAA Tournament in 19 of head coach Dave Rubio's 26 years and 28 seasons overall.

SERIES HISTORY

• Montana won the only matchup between the two schools on Sept. 6, 1991 in Tucson, 3-1.
• Arizona has won all seven previous matchups with UTEP. Most recently, the Wildcats swept the Miners in Tucson on Sept. 20, 2009.
• UA is 17-0 all-time vs. New Mexico State. The two teams have met in each of the last three seasons; Arizona won in four sets in 2015 and 2016 and needed five sets in 2017 in McKale. 

COACHES

• Arizona: Dave Rubio (27th year; 496-309)
• Montana: Allison Lawrence (2nd year; 9-26)
• UTEP: Holly Watts (6th year; 45-110)
• New Mexico State: Mike Jordan (21st year; 446-194)

SCOUTING THE BORDERLAND INVITATIONAL FIELD 

• After opening the season 0-5, Montana defeated Gonzaga in five-sets for its first win of the season to close out the Montana Invitational. Mykaela Hammer (2.52 kills/set, 1.87 digs/set, 0.78 blocks/set) and Alexis Urbach (2.50 kills/set, .257 hitting percentage) lead the way for the Grizzlies.  
• UTEP went 1-2 at the Omaha Challenge with a victory over UIC (3-2) and losses to UMKC (1-3) and Omaha (0-3). Macey Austin leads the team, averaging 3.91 kills/set and 2.52 digs/set.
• New Mexico State went 3-1 in the last week, including a sweep of Grambling State on Tuesday, to improve to 5-2 on the season. The Aggies have two players with at least three kills per set (Savannah Davison and Tatyana Battle). Arizona and New Mexico State will play two times in the next two weeks, splitting a home-and-home with this week's Bordlerland Invitational and next week's Wildcat Classic.

RUBIO LOOKING FOR WIN 500

• Arizona head coach Dave Rubio enters this week four wins shy of 500 for his career. If he reaches the milestone, he will be the second coach in conference history to reach 500 victories as a Pac-10/12 coach. Rubio trails only legendary UCLA coach Andy Banachowski in the Pac-12 record books; Banachowski won 619 matches from 1970-2009 with the Bruins.
• Including his 122 victories at Division II Cal State Bakersfield, where he began his career from 1987-1991, Rubio has won 618 matches. Those 618 victories rank 20th among all active Division I coaches.   

WILD KITTENS

• Arizona was one of the youngest teams in the country a season ago, when UA started three freshmen and two sophomores. A year later, the Wildcats gained experience, but in the big picture, remain one of the youngest teams in the country.
• Arizona has 13 underclassmen (7 freshmen, 6 sophomores). This, along with UCLA, is the most in the Pac-12.

RUN IT BACK

• Arizona returns all six starters and its libero, seven of 11 returning letterwinners, from last season. The Wildcats are the only team in the Pac-12 to return all six starters from last year.
• The Wildcats return 78% of their kills (1,057-of-1,363), 93% of their assists (1,177-of-1,260), 73% of their digs (1,102-of-1,502) and 76% of their blocks from last season.
• Arizona's freshman class in 2017 was one of its best in school history. Four freshmen (Paige Whipple - 213; Elizabeth Shelton - 187; Candice Denny - 106; Katie Smoot - 71) had more than 60 kills last year for the first time in school history. Candice Denny had the third best hitting percentage in UA freshman history (.302) and Paige Whipple had the ninth most digs (213) by a freshman in school history to go along with her 213 kills.

DAHLKE LOOKS TO LEAVE PLACE IN HISTORY

• After leading the Wildcats in total kills in each of the last two seasons, Kendra Dahlke is looking to rewrite the Wildcat history books. In week 2, Dahlke became the 18th player in school history to record 1,000 career kills.