If there are two things that Arizona volleyball coaches and players have talked about after losses, it’s lack of communication and the inability to adjust once opponents change what they’re doing. Both of those issues were addressed in a quick 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-18) victory over Texas Tech on Sunday afternoon in McKale Center.
“I saw that we were way more relaxed,” said Arizona head coach Rita Stubbs. “I thought…it was a match we thought we could win, and not to say we didn’t think we could win on Friday,
but there was no pressure on today. And be that because of competition, be that because they put all the pressure on us over on Friday, but they made a certain effort just to be calm and just to try to play the game and worry about our side of the net.”
The communication piece was especially important for outside hitters Destiny Ndam-Simpson and Carlie Cisneros. The pair of left sides have not always had strong outings at the same time. Sunday was different.
“I thought that they played off of each other well,” Stubbs said. “Even in the third set when that ball fell between both of them, they immediately communicated about it, and then was ready for the next, so that’s all you can ask for.”
Despite playing just three sets, both Ndam-Simpson and Cisneros approached or surpassed double-doubles. They did it on strong hitting percentages. They also served well.
Cisneros got a double-double with 11 kills on .409 hitting and 10 digs. She had four aces for 15 points. She also contributed three assists.
Ndam-Simpson came close to a double-double with 14 kills and eight digs. She hit .281. She added two aces and a block assist for 15.5 points and threw in an assist for good measure.
Arizona’s serving kept Texas Tech off balance for much of the match. When it stopped being as effective, the Wildcats made an adjustment and turned the match back in their favor.
Arizona spent the early part of set two serving to zone five regardless of who was there. Eventually, the Red Raiders adapted and pulled ahead midway through the set. That’s when Arizona changed it up, serving to zone one for several points. The Wildcats retook control and didn’t allow TTU to score two straight points again in the set. Both Stubbs and the players credited associate head coach Ryan Windisch with the successful serving.
“That was Ryan’s call,” Cisneros said. “He calls our serves, and he sees the court way better than we probably could out there. So he was the one that was telling us to move the ball around and…place in the zone, not really on a player.”
Sometimes it doesn’t seem intuitive, but the players have come to trust his call.
“He’ll…tell you to serve the libero, and you’re kind of thinking, ‘Why would I do that?’” Ndam-Simpson said. “But then if they get a bad pass, or it’s an awkward angle for the setter, and then you’re like, ‘Oh, good shot, Ryan!’”
Arizona was also able to use the back row attack to its advantage. The Wildcats have been working on it, but they haven’t been as effective as they would like in previous matches. It was a big part of the success for both outside hitters.
“We weresetting the bic on purpose, which is something that we’ve been talking about a lot,” Stubbs said. “I saw that they were ready to actually hit the ball.”
As a team, Arizona was able to side out just over 70 percent of the time. The average in women’s college volleyball has typically been around 60 percent with 65 or higher being very good. The Wildcats scored points on their own serve over 50 percent of the time, well above the sports’ average of roughly 40 percent.
The Wildcats served eight aces against just six service errors. They outdug their opponent 54-48 after getting manhandled 72-52 in the stat on Friday. Their 18 digs per set tied their season high set against Oregon State in a four-set match on Sept. 12.
Despite having a great statistical day on floor defense, UA still had a solid day at the net. There was a period in the second set when TTU was getting just enough of Arizona’s fingertips to score on balls hit out, but the Wildcats regrouped. They ended with 5.0 blocks to 1.0 for TTU. Three of the five total blocks came in the final set.
Arizona hit .293 as a team. It was just the second time this season the Wildcats have hit above .290. The other came in the season opener against Prairie View A&M when they hit .354. They have hit above .280 twice in their three conference matches after hitting .282 at Colorado.
As Stubbs touched on, the task may have seemed easier on Sunday because Texas Tech has been struggling both on and off the court. The Red Raiders’ athletic director dismissed the head coach three weeks ago after accusations of physical abuse within the program. After the loss in Tucson, TTU dropped to 0-4 in Big 12 play. The team also has losses to Wyoming and Sacramento State on its record.
That said, Texas Tech played both Iowa State and West Virginia to five sets. The Cyclones defeated the Wildcats rather handily on Friday. The Mountaineers pulled off a big upset against Arizona State to open Big 12 play.
Arizona has also had some struggles against teams that it should have beaten or at least been more competitive against this season. So, the ability to do what is expected was a step forward.
“I would say volleyball-wise, we’re always gonna keep working on getting better in every skill that we’re working on,” Ndam-Simpson said. “But it’s really important for us going forward to remember the feelings that we’re having and remember how we communicated with each other because I think that outweighs any of the volleyball skills needed to continue our momentum.”
