TUCSON, Ariz. – Arizona Volleyball won its first championship in program history after taking down Bowling Green in five sets in the NIVC Championship match.
 
The Wildcats stormed back from a 2-1 deficit to win the championship match (27-29, 25-23, 18-25, 25-17, 15-9) in McKale Center on Tuesday night. The victory also extended Arizona's winning streak to 11 matches to close the season after starting the season with 11 consecutive wins. 
 
Fifth year senior Jaelyn Hodge led Arizona with 25 kills and a .339 hitting percentage in her final match as a Wildcat. Jordan Wilson followed with 18 kills to help the Cats win the match. The Wildcats' defense tallied a season best 15.0 blocks led by Journey Tucker with eight blocks and Alayna Johnson with five blocks.
 
Bowling Green won the first set, 29-27. The Falcons edged out the Cats in the opening set by holding Arizona to a .227 hitting percentage. Jaelyn Hodge led the Cats with six kills and a .417 clip, but Bowling Green came back from a six-point deficit to take a 1-0 lead in the match.   
 
Arizona evened the match after winning the second set, 25-23. The Cats gained an eight-point lead and held the Falcons at bay to win the set. Hodge knocked down eight kills and Wilson followed with five kills for the offense. Arizona's defense held Bowling Green to a .125 hitting percentage and the Cats served three aces to even the match.    
 
The Falcons won the third set, 25-18, for a 2-1 lead in the match. Arizona hit -.062 in the set and made unforced errors to drop the third set. Hodge and Wilson both had two kills while Johnson had two blocks, but the Cats couldn't come back to win the third set.
 
Arizona won the fourth set, 25-17, to force a fifth set. The Wildcats hit a match-high .533 and had three blocks to tie the match at 2-2. Wilson paced Arizona with six kills and a .857 hitting percentage. Hodge followed with five kills and Carlie Cisneros added three kills. Tucker was involved in all three blocks to hold the Falcons to a .097 clip.
 
The Wildcats won the championship with a 15-9 win in the fifth set. Arizona jumped to a 10-2 lead and Hodge scored four of Arizona's first 10 points in the set. Hodge closed out her final set as an Arizona Wildcat with four kills while hitting .333 with two blocks and an ace. Wilson had two kills and a solo block in the set. Tucker tallied three blocks to help Arizona secure the NIVC Championship.

2024 NIVC All-Tournament Team
Jaelyn Hodge, Arizona (MVP)
Avery Scoggins, Arizona
Jordan Wilson, Arizona
Lauryn Hovey, Bowling Green
Mia Tyler, Bowling Green
Erin Jones, St. John's
Syd Cole, Northern Colorado