Courtesy of Arizona Communication Services
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Arizona volleyball went 2-0 on day 1 of the 2018 season, sweeping CSUN in the day game before needing five sets to take down Utah State. This marks the first time since 2015 that Arizona has started the season 2-0.
UA wraps up the Hornet Invitational on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. MST against Sacramento State.
Match 1: Arizona 3, CSUN 0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-19)
Arizona opened the 2018 season in dominant fashion, sweeping its season-opening match vs. CSUN in Sacramento, California on Friday morning at the Hornet Invitational (25-17, 25-14, 25-21).
UA hit .463 (46 kills, 9 errors, 80 total attacks) in the three-set victory, its sixth-highest single-match hitting percentage in school history and best in a season opener in Wildcat history.
Arizona’s four leading scorers all hit above .400. Kendra Dahlke posted 15 kills on .414 hitting, Katie Smoot had eight kills on .667 hitting, Devyn Cross notched eight kills on .500 hitting and Elizabeth Shelton picked up seven kills on .538 hitting.
Dahlke’s team-high 15 kills marked her 48th career match with double-digit kills, 10 shy of cracking the UA top-10.
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In addition to a nearly unstoppable offense, the Wildcats were also surgical from the service line. UA had 12 aces, its most in nearly two years since picking up 13 aces Sept. 16, 2016 vs. Northern Kentucky. Five different Wildcats had multiple aces, led by Makenna Martin’s three. Martin also led the Wildcats with 10 digs, her 17th career match with double-digit digs.
Julia Patterson ran Arizona’s record-breaking offense to near perfection. She had 34 assists on UA’s 46 kills. Patterson added two aces and five digs.
Arizona hit .400 in the opening set and took the opener, 25-17. UA never trailed in the first set, with the only tie coming at 1-1. Kendra Dahlke led the way with five kills in the first set while Katie Smoot and Elizabeth Shelton added four apiece.
UA’s offense remained hot in the second set, hitting .519, needing just 27 swings to net 16 kills, as UA cruised to a 25-14 victory in the opening set. UA was also dominant from the serving line; the Cats had five aces in the second set.
In a much more contentious third set, the Wildcats were able to hold off CSUN, 25-19 to sweep the match. The Cats hit .464 to CSUN’s .310. Dahlke had five kills for the third straight set.
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Match 2: Arizona 3, Utah State 2 (15-25, 25-20, 25-19, 21-25, 15-4)
Career matches from Kendra Dahlke (28 kills) and Julia Patterson (62 assists) led Arizona to a five-set victory over Utah State in Friday’s nightcap (15-25, 25-20, 25-19, 21-25, 15-4).
Despite being outhit (.277-.283) and outblocked (9-11), the Cats outlasted the Utes on Friday evening. Arizona posted 15 more kills on the night, led by a dominant performance from Dahlke.
The senior, who had 15 kills on .414 hitting vs. CSUN, one-upped herself and then some with a career-high 28 kills on .400 hitting. Dahlke added 14 digs for Arizona’s first double-double of the season. Dahlke now has 49 career matches with 10-or-more kills, nine shy of cracking the UA career top 10. The 28 kills marked her eight career match with 20-plus kills; she’s two shy of cracking the Arizona top 10 in that category.
UA outdug USU 60-55 in the match, led by Makenna Martin’s 17. Martin led the team in both digs and aces in both of Arizona’s matches on Friday.
After showcasing a dominant offense in the first match of the day, the Wildcats came out flat in the second. Arizona hit -.027 in the first set and dropped the frame 25-15. Dahlke led UA with five kills.
UA responded with a much better showing in the second set, posting 18 kills on .318 hitting and taking the frame, 25-20, to even the match heading into intermission. UA had three blocks in the second set to slow Utah State’s offense.
The Cats put together another strong showing in the third set, hitting .464 and taking the third set, 25-19, to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Utah State forced a fifth set with a 25-21 victory in the fourth.
Arizona dominated the fifth set, 15-4 to take the match in five.
