Courtesy of Arizona Communication Services
(BOULDER, CO) Facing an 0-2 hole, one of which was a 25-8 loss in the second set, the 20th-ranked Wildcats were facing a tough climb to get back to .500 in league play and avoid a Mountain sweep at the hands of Utah and Colorado.
The Wildcats, two days after playing five sets in another high-altitude road match in a loss at Utah, were playing in their fourth straight road match, on the back half of the two longest road trips in the Pac-12, back-to-back (Tucson to Washington State/Washington & Tucson to Utah Colorado). How did they respond? By winning the next three sets to shock Colorado on its senior day, winning the match in five improbable sets (21-25, 8-25, 25-16, 26-20, 15-12).
It was Arizona’s second straight match falling down 0-2 before winning two straight sets to force a fifth set. The Cats were unable to complete the comeback at Utah on Friday, but turned their fortunes around on Sunday at Colorado. The victory moved Arizona to 19-9, 8-8 in the Pac-12 with four matches remaining in the regular season.
“It’s hard to imagine losing a set 25-8 and then coming back to win,” said head coach Dave Rubio after the victory. “We got it done with another makeshift lineup today. We really dug deep for this one.”
Arizona is inching closer to full health, but was still without two starters on Sunday. Devyn Cross and Elizabeth Shelton remained out with concussions.
Candice Denny led the Wildcats with a career-high 16 kills on just 24 swings, posting a .583 hitting percentage, also a career best. Denny was one of three Wildcats in double-figure kills for the match. Paige Whipple posted 15 while Kendra Dahlke had 13 on the afternoon.
Julia Patterson had another double-double, her eighth in-a-row and 16th this season, the most in the Pac-12. Patterson led the team with 42 assists and 12 digs.
“There were a lot of great individual performances today,” said Rubio. “Obviously Candice (Denny) played extremely well. I thought Paige (Whipple) had a really good night offensively. I was proud of the way Emi (Pua’a) hung in there.”
The Cats now return to Arizona for the final four matches of the year over the next two weeks. UA hosts USC, UCLA and California in three straight home matches before heading to Tempe to take on Arizona State in the regular season finale.
(S1: Colorado 25, Arizona 21): Colorado raced out to a big lead early and were able to hang on despite a late surge from the Wildcats. UA trimmed CU’s six-point lead to one late in the set, but the Buffs prevailed, 25-21.
(S2: Colorado 25, Arizona 8): Colorado dominated the second set, 25-8.
(S3: Arizona 25, Colorado 16): UA bounced back with a 25-18 victory in the fourth to force a fourth set, helped out by three service aces in the frame.
(S4: Arizona 25, Colorado 20): Arizona backed up their third set win with another dominant victory in the fourth to force a fifth set.
(S5: Arizona 15, Colorado 12): The Wildcats closed out the match in the fifth set, helped out by five Dahlke kills to carry the Cats over the finish line.
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