STANFORD, Calif. – The Arizona Wildcats took down seven-seed South Dakota State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in four sets (25-21, 22-25, 25-15, 25-15) on Friday night in Maples Pavilion to advance to the second round. The win marks Arizona's first win in the NCAA Tournament since 2016.
 
Arizona recorded 10 blocks and hit .317 to take down the Jackrabbits. Jordan Wilson led Arizona with five blocks and 24 kills with a .340 clip. Carlie Cisneros followed with 18 kills and Sydnie Vanek knocked down 10 kills to round out the offense. Journey Tucker led the Wildcats' defense with six blocks and also added nine kills.

The Cats won the first set, 25-21. Arizona used multiple runs to hold the lead the entire set over South Dakota State and went on a 3-0 run to end the set. Wilson led the Cats with eight kills and a .353 hitting percentage while Cisneros followed with five kills to help the offense. Arizona totaled three blocks in the opening set to hold the Jackrabbits to a .200 hitting percentage.
 
South Dakota State took the second set, 25-22, to even the match. The Jackrabbits started the set on an 8-0 run to control the set. Cisneros had five kills while three Cats – Britt Carlson, Tucker, and Wilson – recorded two kills each. Tucker tallied four blocks and Wilson had three, but it wasn't enough to overcome South Dakota State in the set.
 
Arizona took the third set, 25-15, to take a 2-1 lead in the match. The Cats took the lead at 7-6 and hit .405 to keep control for the entire set. Wilson led the attack with seven kills and Vanek followed with five kills and a .571 hitting percentage. Cisneros and Tucker rounded out the offense for Arizona with seven kills between the pair.
 
The Wildcats won the fourth set, 25-15, to secure the match win. Arizona's offense hit .515 and the Cats used a 4-0 run in the middle of the set to pull away from the Jackrabbits. The offense was led by Wilson with seven kills while Cisneros and Vanek added four kills each. Arizona's defense only had one block but was able to hold South Dakota State to a .118 hitting percentage in the set.
 
Arizona will face the winner of [2] Stanford vs. Utah Valley in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, December 6 at 7 p.m. MST in Maples Pavilion.