(Tucson, AZ) Coming into this game, the Cats needed to right the ship. With four consecutive losses in the Bay Area and the two Washington schools, home cooking was what this banged up team was hoping for.
It was the Father-Daughter night at McKale and in spite of some key high school football matchups going on, the Wildcat crowd was very impressive.
Arizona got out to a quick start as the they played very tough defense and Paige Whipple with her service ace and kills lead the offense.
Devyn Cross with two big “roofs” and a slide kill had the team rolling at 10-1 on an eight point run.
Later on in the first set Cross picked up her third block made the score 18-7.
Oregon State came back with a four point run but Rubio’s team coasted to a 25-13 first set win.
The keys were Cross’s big net play and digs by Malina Kaleiua and Emi Pua’a kept the Beavers off balance and unable to put anything together.
In the second set, Oregon State closed the gap and got their offense in gear with a four point run, but still trailed 16-13.
Cross’s kill ignited the McKale crowd at Zona led 17-12, but the Beavers didn’t lay down as they quickly came back with four straight points to draw within two at 18-16.
Arizona closed out the second set on a 7-4 run to win 25-20 and go up two sets to none.
With injured to key starters and the Cats not being at full strength, their play in the first two sets was encouraging but trouble was brewing on the horizon.
The beginning of Set 3 saw the Wildcats take a slim 8-6 lead, but OSU blocks tied the score at 8-8.
Then both teams punched back as Arizona and the Beavers each had three point runs back to back to knot the score back at 11-11.
OSU took their first lead of the march with a long volley point to forge ahead 13-12.
Back came the Cats to retake the lead 17-15 and forced a Beaver timeout. Oregon State came out with an ace and a point to go back up 20-18.
The error bug stuck the Beavers and allowed Zona to go up 23-21 and wanted to close out the match in three straight sets, but OSU had other ideas.
The Wildcats faltered down the stretch only gaining a single point to Oregon State’s five. A key net violation allowed the Beavers to retake the lead 25-24 and when Smoot hit it long out of bounds OSU scratched out the victory in the third set. Arizona still led two sets to one.
The fourth set saw both teams go back and forth with neither team able to get more than a three point lead when OSU had a 15-12 advantage.
Poor offense plagued the Cats in the set, but their defense was what kept them in the game to tie the score at 16-16 and a Beaver time out.
Oregon State came out of the timeout with some good offensive play, good blocking and unforced service errors by the Cats gave the lead back to the Beavers 23-20.
A service error and am amazing kill by Smoot pulled Arizona within one at 23-22 and awoke the home crowd.
Both teams traded points 24-23 before the Beavers put it away 25-23 to set up a winner take all fifth set.
Oregon State put immediate pressure on the Wildcats by starting out with a 7-4 lead thanks to Max Brown’s fourteen kill of the match.
At the switch court sides, Zona still trialed 8-6. Cross smashed one down the middle and a “roof” that got the crowd on its feet tied the set at 8-8.
Arizona lead briefly at 9-8 when Cross caught the Beavers out of sync but Whipple’s wide hit gave it right back to OSU 10-9.
A finesse hit by Whipple and an Oregon State net violation evened the score at 11-11.
Both teams felt the pressure to win, but the Cats had more of the load being at home and trying to shake a four match losing streak.
A point and and block by OSU’s Kory Cheshire started the beginning of the end for Arizona although tying it at 13-13 ultimately fell 15-13.
After a promising start by Arizona to go up two sets, bad defense, inconsistent offense and lacking the killer instinct costed the Cats dearly in a match they should have won.
In spite of all the injuries the Cats have faced in the last month, this one stung hard.
Arizona is back in action at McKale Center on Sunday at noon against the Oregon Ducks.
