TUCSON, Ariz. -- Arizona fell in straight sets on Friday night (25-21, 25-21, 25-16), failing to slow down the high-powered offense of 20th-ranked California, which hit .456 in the match.
 
The Wildcats hit .308 themselves, putting together one of their best offensive matches in conference play. Thursday's loss marked the first time this season that the Arizona had hit .300 or better in a loss.
 
Paige Whipple led the Wildcats with 15 kills and just three errors, hitting .343 in the match. Katie Smoot (11 kills, .269 hit%) and Devyn Cross (10 kills, .444 hit%) also finished with double-digit kills on efficient offensive nights for Arizona. On the heels of her triple-double last Sunday at Utah, Julia Patterson had five kills to go along with 31 assists and four digs.

However, the shorthanded Wildcats did not receive any offense other than those four. Whipple, Smoot, Cross and Patterson combined for 41 kills on 91 swings (.352); the rest of the team combined for zero kills on 13 swings.

The Cats fell to 12-13, 2-11 Pac-12 while 20th-ranked Cal improved to 19-4, 9-4 Pac-12. Arizona will now host No. 5 Stanford (17-4, 11-2) on Saturday at 7 p.m. MST.

CAT CLICKS
2019 Schedule
Purchase Tickets
 
FOLLOW ARIZONA VOLLEYBALL
Twitter: @ArizonaVBall
Instagram: @ArizonaVolleyball