SALT LAKE CITY – The Wildcats lost a five-set heartbreaker to Utah (17-25, 17-25, 25-14, 25-20, 12-15) on Sunday afternoon.
 
Arizona's offense was led by Sofia Maldonado Diaz with 16 kills and Jordan Wilson with 12 kills. On defense, Nicole Briggs recorded a career best nine blocks.
 
Utah won Set 1, 25-17. Vanek led Arizona's offense with four kills and a .667 clip, but Utah held the Wildcats to a .038 hitting percentage in the opening set. Hodge opened the match with an ace, but the Utes quickly took the lead and held on to it the rest of the set.
 
The Utes took the second set, 25-17, for the 2-0 lead in the match. Maldonado Diaz tallied three kills while Wilson and Alayna Johnson had two kills each.
 
The Wildcats won Set 3, 25-14, to force a fourth set. The Wildcats hit .385 in the set with Maldonado Diaz leading the way with five kills and a .364 clip. Wilson tallied four kills and hit .667 in the set. Arizona's defense totaled five blocks to hold Utah to a .029 hitting percentage.
 
Arizona forced a fifth set with a 25-20 win in Set 4. The Cats out-hit Utah and Maldonado Diaz had five kills. Wilson and Vanek had three kills each. Joy Galles served two aces to help Arizona even the match.
 
The Cats lost a back-and-forth fifth set, 12-15, to lose the match. Maldonado Diaz and Wilson each had two kills but Utah out-hit the Cats .214-.067 to win the set.
 
The Wildcats will return home to host Stanford on Friday, October 27 at 6 p.m. and California on Sunday, October 29 at 12 p.m. MST.
 
Match Leaders
Kills: Sofia Maldonado Diaz – 16
Assists: Ana Heath – 37
Digs: Joy Galles – 14
Blocks: Nicole Briggs – 9