Arizona Wildcats

Shorthanded Wildcats Fall in Four Sets

Courtesy of Arizona Communication  Services

(LOS ANGELES, CA)  No. 15 USC defeated 23rd-ranked Arizona in four sets (25-18, 22-25, 25-17, 25-16) on Sunday afternoon in the Galen Center.

The Wildcats were without the Pac-12 leader in kills, Kendra Dahlke, who suffered a concussion on Friday night vs. UCLA, as well as Elizabeth Shelton, who missed her eighth straight match with a concussion. Without the two starters, the Wildcats struggled both offensively and defensively; USC outhit Arizona .370-.164.

Three sophomores stepped up in Dahlke’s absence to attempt to fill the offensive void. Katie Smoot led the Wildcats with 13 kills, a new career high and classmates Candice Denny and Paige Whipple finished with 11 apiece.

“I thought Katie played terrific today,” said head coach Dave Rubio. “Overall it was a tough match for us. I thought our first contact skills weren’t at the level we needed them to be. They were the far better team from the service line today.”

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Arizona, which lost its fourth straight match to a ranked opponent, fell to 14-6, 3-5 Pac-12, while the Trojans improved to 14-5, 4-2 Pac-12. The Wildcats return home now for four straight matches at McKale Center beginning this week vs. Colorado (Friday) and Utah (Sunday).

S1 (USC 25, Arizona 17): USC ended the first set on an 8-1 run after Arizona rallied to tie the frame at 17. USC had 16 kills and just one attack error in the set (.500).

S2 (Arizona 25, USC 22): The Wildcats evened up the match with a 25-22 victory in the second. UA hit .252 in the bounce-back frame.

S3 (USC 25, Arizona 17): The Trojans dominated the third set from start to finish, using five blocks to hold UA to .026 hitting in the set.

S4 (USC 25, Arizona 16): Another dominant performance by USC led the Trojans to a sweep. USC had 16 kills without an error (.727) in the frame.

Up Next

The Wildcats will return home to host Colorado (Friday) and Utah (Sunday) in McKale Center next week.

 

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