PHOENIX, Ariz. – Arizona closed out the GCU Invitational with a five-set win over Grand Canyon on Sunday. The Cats fell in the first set, 14-25, before battling back to win the next two sets 25-14, 25-20. The Lopes won the third set 20-25 but Arizona closed out the match with a 15-9 win in the fifth set.
 
For the second-straight match, Jaelyn Hodge, Sofia Maldonado Diaz, and Jordan Wilson tallied 10 or more kills each. Maldonado Diaz led all scorers with 21 kills followed by Hodge with 18 kills and Wilson with 16 kills. Maldonado Diaz also recorded her third double-double with 21 kills and 11 digs.
 
Sophomore Ana Heath recorded career highs of 54 assists and five aces.
 
Grand Canyon won the first set, 14-25. The Lopes came out strong against the Wildcats, hitting .364 and holding Arizona to a .154 hitting percentage. Arizona made six attack errors and three service errors to allow GCU to win the first set.
 
The Cats evened the match with a 25-14 win in set two. Arizona came out strong in Set 2 with a 5-0 run and hit .394 in the set. Heath served four aces in the set and Maldonado Diaz led Arizona's attack with six kills. Hodge knocked down four kills for the Cats and Alayna Johson followed with three kills.
 
Arizona won the third set 25-20 to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Maldonado Diaz led the attack again with seven kills and a .357 clip in the set. Wilson tallied four kills with a .571 hitting percentage to help Arizona's offense. Nicole Briggs had two solo blocks in the set to keep the Lopes to a .088 hitting percentage.
 
GCU won the fourth set, 20-25, to force a fifth set. In a back-and-forth set, the Lopes were able to keep a small lead over Arizona with well-timed runs. Despite the Cats serving four aces, they only hit .059 while GCU hit .297 in the set. Wilson recorded four kills and a .571 hitting percentage for the second set in a row but it wasn't enough to help Arizona win the set.
 
The Wildcats won the fifth set, 15-9, to win their second-straight match. Arizona found Hodge for eight kills to help them win the match. The Wildcats' offense hit .524 in the set while the defense held GCU to a .278 hitting percentage.
 
Arizona will head to Wisconsin for the Wisconsin Invitational next week. The Cats will face Wisconsin on Thursday, September 7 at 5 p.m. MST on FS1 before taking on Miami (FL) on Saturday, September 9 in Madison, Wis.
 
Match Leaders
Kills: Sofia Maldonado Diaz – 21
Assists: Ana Heath – 54
Digs: Giorgia Mandotti – 17
Blocks: Nicole Briggs & Ana Heath – 2