HOUSTON, Texas – The Arizona Wildcats took down the Houston Cougars in four sets (25-18, 20-25, 26-24, 25-19) on Sunday afternoon. Arizona improved to 11-6 (5-2 Big 12) with the win.
The Wildcats dominated with 11 blocks and 10 service aces.
Jordan Wilson led Arizona's offense with 19 kills and recorded a career high 24 digs to lead the defense.
Ana Heath and
Sydnie Vanek had five blocks each while
Avery Scoggins and
Journey Tucker both tallied three blocks.
Arizona took the first set, 25-18. The Wildcats served three aces and used two blocks to hold the Cougars to a .143 hitting percentage. The set started with both team trading points before Arizona went on a 6-0 run to create separation halfway through the set. Wilson led the offense with five kills and Heath followed with four kills and a .333 clip.
Carlie Cisneros added three kills for the Cats.
Houston tied the match with a 25-20 win in the second set. The Cougars took the lead at 11-10 and Arizona couldn't come back from Houston's four kills and three aces. Wilson tallied five kills and hit .400 and Cisneros followed with three kills in the set. Arizona totaled three blocks and Tucker had two of those blocks.
The Wildcats won the third set, 26-24, after coming back from a six-point deficit and fighting off five set points for the Cougars. Wilson totaled six kills and Cisneros had five kills to lead the Arizona offense. The Cats had three blocks to hold the Cougars to a .167 hitting percentage.
Sydnie Vanek had two blocks and Tucker had a solo block for Arizona.
The Cats won the match with a 25-19 win in the fourth set. Arizona hit .393 and served four aces to secure the match victory. In another back-and-forth set, Arizona took the lead at 15-14 and used a 5-0 run to take a large lead over Houston. Cisneros and Heath led the offense with four kills each and Wilson had three kills in the set. The Cats used three blocks to keep the Cougars to a .171 hitting percentage, led by Heath and Tucker who had two blocks each.
Arizona will head to Ames, Iowa to take on Iowa State on Thursday, October 23 before returning home to host Arizona State on Saturday, October 25.