WEEK 9 || at COLORADO, at UTAH

MATCH 23 »  ARIZONA: 12-11, 2-9 Pac-12 at  COLORADO: 9-12, 1-11 Pac-12
Friday, Nov. 1 • 6 p.m. MST • Boulder, Colo. (CU Events Center)
FINAL: Colorado 3, Arizona 2 • Box Score

MATCH 24 »   ARIZONA: 12-11, 2-9 Pac-12 at  #17 UTAH: 15-7, 7-4 Pac-12 
Sunday, Nov. 3 • 12 p.m. MST • Salt Lake City, Utah (Huntsman Center)
TV: Pac-12 Mountain (Live Stream) • Live Stats • Follow on Twitter

• For the third time in the last four weeks, the Wildcats will hit the road. Arizona is set to begin the second half of conference play at Colorado (8-12, 0-10 Pac-12) and at 17th-ranked Utah (14-7, 6-4 Pac-12) this weekend. 
• The Cats finished off the first half of conference play on a high note, defeating Oregon in four sets last Sunday. Arizona will look to carry that momentum into Boulder, where they will meet Colorado, which it swept in Tucson on Oct. 6.
• Arizona went 1-1 vs. Colorado and Utah earlier this season, falling the the Utes in four sets before defeating Colorado in straight sets.
• The Wildcats will face the Buffaloes at 6 p.m. on Friday in Boulder before facing the Utes on Sunday at noon in Salt Lake City.
• What to Watch for: Arizona's ever-long quest to get healthy continues this week; the Wildcats remain without three hitters due to concussions again this week ... Paige Whipple and Katie Smoot have shouldered the load in the absence of concussed Elizabeth Shelton, Whittnee Nihipali and Shardonee Hayes; Whipple has at least 13 kills in each of her last five matches while Smoot has had double-digit kills in her last three, including a season-high 19 vs. Oregon State last Friday ... Two Wildcats enter the week looking to move up a pair of top-10 lists this week: Kamaile Hiapo is 15 digs shy of moving into eighth place in UA history in digs by a freshman and Devyn Cross is 16 blocks shy of eighth place in Arizona history in career blocks.
• Live Coverage: Both matches will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks and streamed on pac-12.com/live ... Live stats for both matches are available at arizonastats.com ... Follow this weekend's action and all season long on Twitter (@ArizonaVBall).

• Devyn Cross leads the Pac-12 and is second nationally in hitting percentage (.446). Cross is trying to become the first Wildcat since Marissa DaLee in 2000 (.437, the Arizona single-season record) to lead the NCAA in hitting percentage.
• At California (10/13), Julia Patterson became the seventh player in Arizona history to record 3,000 career assists, moving into seventh place in Arizona history. She enters this week with 3,156 career assists, 361 shy of sixth in UA history. 
• For the second straight season, the Wildcats are dealing with a handful of concussions. Three of UA's top six hitters -- Shardonee Hayes, Whittnee Nihipali and Elizabeth Shelton -- have missed extended time with concussions. In their absence, Arizona's normal libero, freshman Kamaile Hiapo, has played opposite during Arizona's last four matches. Hiapo has averaged 0.81 kills and 3.81 digs per set in her four-game stint.
• Arizona senior Emi Pua'a has played the last eight games at libero after Hiapo was injured prior to being called into action at outside hitter. Pua'a has at least 12 digs in seven of her last eight matches, including a career-high 29 digs vs. Washington, tied for 11th most overall in a match in Arizona history and tied for sixth in a four-set match in UA history. 
• The Wildcats are 12-1 when posting a better hitting percentage than their opponents and 0-9 when they are outhit by their opponent. UA is 7-0 when hitting .300 or better and 9-2 when holding its opponents to .200 or worse.
• Head coach Dave Rubio is in his 28th season as the Wildcats' head coach. Last season, Rubio became the second coach in Pac-12 history to surpass 500 victories as a league coach and currently has a career record of 524-331 (.615) at Arizona and ranks 15th among all active coaches in the NCAA with 646 career wins, including his 122 wins at Cal State Bakersfield.

• Team Notes: Colorado enters the weekend in seacrh of its first Pac-12 win; the Buffaloes fell last weekend vs. #24 Washington State (0-3) and #9 Washington (1-3) ... Colorado is led by Justine Spann, who is sixth in the Pac-12, averaging 4.10 kills/set. 
• Head Coach: Jesse Mahoney (4th season; 64-52)
• Series History: Arizona 9, Colorado 8
  • 10/6/19: Arizona 3, Colorado 0

• Team Notes: The Utes have played four straight matches vs. ranked foes, going just 1-3, but upset No. 9 Washington last weekend in Salt Lake City ... Utah has one of the conference's best offenses, led by Dani Drews,who averages 4.55 kills and 2.18 digs per set; the offense is run by Saige Ka'aha'aina-Torres, who ranks second in the Pac-12 with 11.27 assists/set.
• Head Coach: Beth Launiere (30th season; 578-367)
• Series History: Arizona 25, Utah 9
  • 10/4/19: Utah 3, Arizona 1