Everyone knows that Jordan Wilson is the star of the Arizona volleyball team. The senior plays a premium position and she does it at one of the highest levels in the country, ranking 29th with 4.35 kills per set. She can’t do it alone, though. That’s where a cast of primarily freshmen and sophomores step in.
Everyone who follows the Wildcats’ volleyball team knows about Carlie Cisneros and Avery Scoggins. Most probably know about Brenna Ginder, as well. The trio of sophomores are in their second year
as starters for head coach Rita Stubbs. A couple other underclassmen have joined them as important pieces this season.
Adrianna Bridges was behind three more experienced middle blockers last season. Paige Thies was finishing her final year of high school as one of just two incoming freshmen who didn’t join Arizona a semester early. Both have had their numbers called to varying degrees this year.
Bridges has been Arizona’s best middle blocker. She leads the team’s middles in both scoring and blocking. She’s also doing something many NCAA middles don’t do–serving at a high level.
The 6-foot-4 athlete is fourth on the team with 1.59 kills per set. She is 20th in the Big 12 with 40 total blocks and ranks 26th with 0.98 blocks per set.
Bridges’ serve has been crucial in some big wins. Her five aces against just one service error was part of the team effort that put pressure on Kansas State’s serve receive game last weekend. It helped the Wildcats earn the road split to open Big 12 play.
Up Next for Arizona Volleyball
Utah Utes (8-5, 0-2 Big 12) @ Arizona Wildcats (7-5, 1-1 Big 12)
When: Thursday, Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. MST
Where: McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz.
TV/Streaming: FS1 and Fox ONE ($/free trial)
Stats: Arizona Live Stats
Having the trust of her coach to go out a serve is big for the sophomore.
“At first, I was a little nervous, but it’s definitely exciting that she trusts me enough to be able to go out there and, I just think, serve as hard as you can so the ball doesn’t come back, so I don’t have to pass,” Bridges said. “But, no, I love it. It’s awesome.”
The service game has also been a boon for Arizona because of Bridges’ position. NCAA volleyball allows liberos to serve, so many coaches do not keep middle blockers in to serve. They get subbed out as soon as they rotate to the back row. It’s tough to do that with Bridges, who leads the team in both total aces (13) and aces per set (0.32).
It’s something Bridges has been focused on.
“The key to my serve is making sure I have a good toss,” she said. “That’s what Rita has been talking to me about. And then also having good contact with my hand. When I hit and when I serve, my hand sometimes gets a little flimsy, so keeping it a strong hand and firm. So that’s what we’ve been going over in
Thies has also come in handy when a good serve is needed. The freshman hasn’t got a lot of playing time this year. That’s not surprising. She plays behind Wilson and Cisneros, who ranked No. 2 and No. 1 in their recruiting classes. Her coach has shown a great deal of trust in her, though.
Thies was subbed into the Kansas State match at a critical point last week. Arizona won the first two sets but dropped the third. In the fourth, UA let a huge lead slip away, wasted two match points, then had to fight off a K-State set point that would have pushed the match to a fifth set.
Thies had been on the bench all night, but Stubbs put her in with the match tied at 25. Her initial serve resulted in a kill by Wilson, giving Arizona its third match point. The freshman stepped up and served an ace to earn a victory for her team.
Those two points were big. They may have earned Thies more opportunities in Arizona’s next match.
The Wildcats went to No. 18 Kansas in hopes of replicating last year’s upset over the Jayhawks. Wilson was dominant in the 2024 match, but KU kept her in check this time. She had just three kills to go with 10 hitting errors through two sets.
With UA struggling to score, Stubbs put her 6-foot-2 freshman in the match on the left side. Thies was up to the challenge. She had two kills on five swings without an error and accounted for three digs. Arizona lost the match in straight sets, but the rookie helped stabilize an offense that had 13 errors against just 17 kills in the two sets before she subbed in.
“Paige got on the floor and did a good job for someone who was standing on the sidelines,” Stubbs said. “She didn’t ask any questions. She just went out there and went for it. And Jordan did struggle all around in that match, but she learned from it, and she understood, and when she went on the sideline, she was still cheering and involved and whatnot. And great players have to go through it. Everyone wants that great player to be great all the time. It just doesn’t work that way, and it’s a matter of how she comes back.”
It’s a different role for the young pin, but Stubbs is happy with her development.
“Paige is exactly where she needs to be,” Stubbs said. “She’s doing everything. She has a great serve, she’s passing, and she has a heavy arm. And she’s the one that’s slated to take over in the Jordan role when Jordan graduates and she knows that. And so, she’s a student of the game. She’s only played on upper teams. I mean, I think she was on [U18 teams] from [the age of] 16 on, and so she’s used to playing too with the bigger kids and the older kids.”
Thies is using the opportunity to prepare for the future, but she has not lost sight of the possibilities this season.
“It’s been fine, learning to grow,” Thies said. “Jordan is such an amazing person to look up to…Being able to grow and learn from her for going into next season, and then even this season, if I get opportunities to go in, using what I have learned from them, and putting it into my play.”
