TUCSON, Ariz. – Arizona volleyball won its eighth straight match, defeating Sacramento State in four sets (28-30, 25-16, 25-12, 25-23) in the Wildcat Classic Finale on Saturday afternoon in McKale Center.
 
Senior Devyn Cross put forth one of the best individual performances in school history, recording 10 kills on 11 swings, good for an unbelievable .909 hitting percentage. Cross became the seventh player in the NCAA this year, third from a Power 5 team, to hit .900 in a match this season. It is the highest individual hitting percentage by a Wildcat in the last 10 years. The middle blocker added a match-high five blocks in the match.
 
Cross' heroics helped the Cats overcome a slow start; Arizona dropped the first set of the match, 28-30, falling in a set for the first time in eight matches, ending a 21-set winning streak, one shy of the school record. Arizona would bounce back in a big way, winning sets 2 and 3 convincingly and closing out the match with a 25-23 victory in set 4.
 
Junior outside hitter Paige Whipple tied her season high with 19 kills, paired with 11 digs, good for her second straight double-double and fourth of the season. Whipple needed just 42 swings to collect her 19 kills.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Whittnee Nihipali, who entered the match with four kills on the season, put together her second double-digit kill effort of what has been a breakout weekend for the Las Vegas native. Nihipali posted a career-high 12 kills in the match.
 
With the win, Arizona extended its winning streak to eight matches, its longest since winning the first eight matches of the 2018 season.
 
UA will now turn its attention to the grueling Pac-12 schedule, which begins on Thursday in Tempe. Arizona will face Arizona State on Thursday before heading to Los Angeles to meet USC on Saturday as conference play begins with a pair of matches on the road for the Wildcats.
 
WILDCAT CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
 
Elizabeth Shelton, Arizona (Most Valuable Player
Emersen Belles, Alabama State
Devyn Cross, Arizona
Sarah Davis, Sacramento State
Savannah Davison, New Mexico State
Ashtin Olin, Sacramento State
Paige Whipple, Arizona
 
 
UP NEXT
 
Arizona begins Pac-12 play next week with a pair of road matches, taking on Arizona State on Thursday in Tempe before facing No. 20 USC on Saturday in Los Angeles.
 
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