TUCSON, Ariz. -- With 20 days remaining prior to Arizona Volleyball's season-opening doubleheader in McKale Center on Aug. 30, the Wildcats took the floor to officially kick off 2019 fall camp.

Today's training included a morning and afternoon session in Richard Jefferson Gymnasium, the first of nine "double days" for the Wildcats.

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DAY ONE ?

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Arizona returns all four starters and 11 total players from a 22-win team a season ago, when the Wildcats appeared in their eighth NCAA Tournament in the last 10 years. Those 11 returners are joined by four newcomers -- three freshmen and one junior transfer.

The Wildcats are two weeks away from their annual Red-Blue match on Aug. 24 in McKale Center at 2 p.m. and just under three weeks from hosting the Cactus Classic (Aug. 30-31) to kick off the 2019 season. UA opens the year vs. Appalachian State (10 a.m.) and Loyola Marymount (7 p.m.) on Aug. 30 before concluding the event vs. Samford (12 p.m.) on Aug. 31. 

Four seniors -- middle blocker Devyn Cross (Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.), libero Makenna Martin (Gilbert, Ariz.), setter Julia Patterson (Los Alamitos, Calif.) and defensive specialist Emi Pua'a (Honolulu, Hawaii) -- officially began their senior season on Saturday. The four seniors have combined to play in 1,007 sets in their Wildcat careers over 290 matches. Cross was an honorable mention AVCA All-American in 2018 while Cross and Patterson were honorable mention all-Pac-12.

Five juniors -- middle blocker Shardonee Hayes (Columbus, Ga.), setter Mahina Pua'a (Honolulu, Hawaii), outside hitter Elizabeth Shelton (Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.), outside hitter Katie Smoot (San Mateo, Calif.) and outside hitter Paige Whipple (Salem, Ore.) -- are now upperclassmen. The four returning Wildcats all averaged over 1.10 kills/set as key contributors last season; Whipple (3.13), Smoot (2.24) and Shelton (2.14) finished 2/3/4 on the team in kills/set a season ago while Hayes averaged 1.17 kills on a team-best 3.63 hitting. Mahina Pua'a transferred to Arizona after an All-American career at Iowa Western. 

Six sophomores -- middle blocker Zyonna Fellows (Tacoma, Wash.), outside hitter Whittnee Nihipali (Las Vegas, Nev.), and defensive specialist Malina Kalei Ua (Long Beach, Calif.) -- are set for year two under Coach Rubio. All three saw action as freshmen, with Ua's 12 aces and 130 digs in 109 sets leading the way amongst the class. 

Four freshmen -- defensive specialist Kamaile Hiapo (Mesa, Ariz.), outside hitter Simone Overbeck (Newbury Park, Calif.), Mackay Sennyey (Tucson, Ariz.) and defensive specialist Erin Williamson (Atlanta, Ga.) -- all had their first taste of collegiate volleyball action on Wednesday. The newcomers are highlighted by Hiapo and Overbeck, two top-100 recruits.

For more information on tickets, visit www.arizonawildcats.com/VB. Be sure to follow the team on Twitter and Instagram to keep up with team.