After a relatively easy first week, Arizona volleyball head coach Rita Stubbs expected her team to be tested this weekend at the Boise State Classic. She got what she asked for in a 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-20, 27-25) victory over an Oregon State team that never gave up.
“I thought we got better as the match went on,” Stubbs said. “They’re big, and so that was the first time that we played a team that’s that big. Last week, we were, unfortunately or fortunate, depending on how you look at it, able to
get away with a couple things because they didn’t have the size to be able to battle with us. And so, just dealing with that, that takes a little bit from us. And then I thought they did a great job of serving the right people at the right time.”
The win marked the 15th straight victory for the program stretching back to last season. That surpasses the program’s record of 14 straight wins that was set in 2000.
“I always look to [the media] to tell me what the records are, because I have not a clue,” Stubbs said. “But, I mean, I told the ladies. I was like, ‘Yay, we won. Exciting. Okay, let’s talk about the things that we need to get better at, from your perspective as it directly relates to you, and then let’s be ready to go tomorrow.’ We will celebrate all the goods and all the accolades and all that stuff at the conclusion of the season, because the only thing that we care about is putting ourselves in a position to get as far as we can and get into the tournament.”
The Beavers came out much sharper than Arizona. They also had more scoring variety.
Only senior Jordan Wilson had more than one kill for the Wildcats in the opening set. Over halfway through the second set, Carlie Cisneros had three, but the rest of the team was stuck at one or fewer. No one except Wilson was hitting over .200.
Stubbs made a change with the team trailing 14-9 in the first. Britt Carlson came in for Ana Heath at opposite, giving the Wildcats more size on the right side. The team halted a four-point run by the Beavers and put together a 10-2 run to go up 19-17. Arizona couldn’t hold the lead in the first, but the substitution stayed in place.
“When you have size at the net, that’s going to make you do something different as an attacker,” Stubbs said. “And their outside hitter does a phenomenal job of hitting wrist away low and if you’re a smaller block, then sometimes it’s gotta be all about the right timing, but when you’re bigger, they’re able to make them do something a little bit different. And that’s kind of what I talked about before. Being able to use one or the other depending on what the situation required.”
Up Next for Arizona Volleyball
Arizona Wildcats (4-0) @ Boise State Broncos (3-0)
When: Friday, Sept. 5 at 2:30 p.m. MST
Where: Bronco Gym in Boise, ID
Streaming: Mountain West Network
Stats: Arizona Live Stats
Arizona Wildcats (4-0) vs UC San Diego Tritons (1-2)
When: Saturday, Sept. 6 at 9 a.m. MST
Where: Bronco Gym in Boise, ID
Streaming: Mountain West Network
Stats: Arizona Live Stats
The situation definitely required a lot of Wilson, but the rest of the team started to help her score in the second half of the second set.
“Jordan is a gamer, and she’s the one that wants to be in a position to carry the team and do A, B or C,” Stubbs said. “She’s a part of who we are, and she’s probably one of the most humble players that I know. She makes others around her better, which allows her to carry that weight, because she was made for it. But then others are able to come through, because people are focused on her.”
Her teammates definitely benefited from the attention shown to Wilson, but it was still the Jordan Show. When the Wildcats evened the match by taking set two, the team had 28 kills. Wilson had 14 of them and was hitting .478.
Arizona’s senior outside hitter had a more hitting errors late in the match, causing her hitting percentage to drop. She still ended with 23 kills on .255 hitting. She added two service aces and two total blocks for 26.5 points. She also narrowly missed a double-double by contributing nine digs.
Her teammates eventually found their offensive groove, too. Cisneros finished with 17 kills on .152 hitting. The sophomore threw in an ace and two total blocks for 19 points and added seven digs.
Carlson had a strong match with eight kills on .357 hitting.
Sydnie Vanek earned her points primarily via blocking, but she was efficient as an attacker, too. The junior middle blocker had eight total blocks, including two solo, setting career highs in both categories. She added four kills on .333 hitting to contribute nine points. The points matched her career high.
“Phenomenal blocker today,” Stubbs said.
Vanek was effective as a blocker despite being only 6 feet tall and facing the biggest team Arizona has seen so far this season. It comes down to athleticism, technique, and sustained effort.
“She’s actually not small in the middle, per se, because she jumps well and she has long levers,” Stubbs said. “And you think this is a kid who hasn’t played in the middle, but this is a kid who has played in the middle, it’s just been a while, and she gets to just be athletic. And she just listened. So she would make her block move, and would be the late fill in the middle and still get a block because she completed the motion. And that’s what we’re trying to teach all of the players to do, is to play throughout, not just halfway, ‘Oh, it doesn’t affect me,’ and kind of give up.”
Neither of the teams gave up on Thursday afternoon. The Beavers built a 15-9 lead in the opening set. That’s when Carlson came in for the Wildcats. Arizona chipped away, eventually taking a 19-17 lead. UA’s final lead came at 21-20, but it couldn’t get the final four points it needed. Oregon State went up 1-0 by taking five of the final seven points.
Things were tight in second set. Neither team could build more than a three-point lead or maintain any lead it had. That didn’t come to an end until the final tie at 23-23. Arizona won the final two points to level the match.
It looked like the third would be more of the same. The biggest lead in the early going came when Arizona went up 5-2.
Things took a turn when the Wildcats tied the set at nine points each. Arizona went on a 13-4 run to go up by seven. The designated road team only needed three more points to take a 2-1 lead in the match. It took the ’Cats eight points to get there.
Oregon State’s fight at the end of the third set carried over to the beginning of the fourth. The Beavers rushed out to a 4-0 lead. They eventually went up by five, but the Wildcats found their footing with OSU leading 8-3.
A 10-4 run by Arizona put the Beavs behind by one. They had to win the set to keep the match going, but the Wildcats were up 13-12.
OSU fought back just as it had all match long. The Beavers won five of the next six points to put themselves on top 17-14.
Oncee again, Arizona responded. The Wildcats went on a 10-2 run to give themselves five match points. It was as good as over, right?
Not so fast.
The Beavers not only saved all five match points, but they won six points in a row to give themselves a set point. They were on the verge of pushing it to five.
Arizona’s block turned out to be the difference. Cisneros stepped to the line and made two good serves. Wilson, Carlson, and Adrianna Bridges all got their hands on the ball in the final two points to block the Beavers’ attack. The Wildcats had survived.
Arizona now moves on to play the host Boise State Broncos on Friday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. MST.
