PULLMAN, Wash. – No. 15 Washington State Volleyball fell to Arizona Saturday afternoon to finish the regular season by a score of 3-0.
Set scores from the match were: 21-25, 22-25, and 20-25 in favor of Arizona (10-11, 10-11 Pac-12).
The second meeting between these two programs began as closely as the first, as this contest saw eight total ties within the first 18 overall points for a 9-9 score. Multiple errors from the Arizona Wildcats (9-11, 9-11 Pac-12) along with a kill from
Julianna Dalton and a solo block from
Penny Tusa kept the Cougars countering anything UA threw at them. WSU would take slim leads throughout this set, leading 17-16 after a
Madga Jehlářová kill and Tusa solo block. The Wildcats found a bit of rhythm late in this opening set, posting a 4-0 scoring run to take over the lead from WSU at 21-19. Arizona continued to ride this late momentum shift all the way to match point, ultimately winning the set at 25-21 over WSU.
The Wildcats continued to remain hot beginning set number two with a 7-2 scoring run against the Cougars. Washington State always knows how to find its' way back into a match, as the Cougars posted a 4-0 scoring run to close within one point of Arizona at 9-8. Fueling this run was a kill from
Pia Timmer, and three consecutive UA errors. WSU began building a major run of their own, capturing six of the last eight points to take the lead back at 15-13. Dalton posted three kills during this run, along with kills from Jehlářová and Timmer. Big momentum swings were evident in this second game, as Arizona countered WSU with four unanswered points of their own to lead 19-16 late in the contest. The Cougs and Wildcats traded points down the stretch of this second set, but it was Arizona who hit 25 first and took a 2-0 overall lead in the match.
Set number three began much like the second, where the Wildcats jumped ahead to an early lead, this time around at 7-4. The Cougs fought right back with a quick run of their own, as
Jasmine Martin recorded a solo block, followed by a Timmer ace. UA once again created a scoring run to just pull them ahead of Washington State, as a 4-1 run put the visitors ahead at 16-12. WSU fired right back with three consecutive points, led by a crucial
Alexcis Lusby kill. Arizona countered yet again, to take back the lead and force a WSU timeout at 21-17. The Wildcats finished out the match on a 6-3 run to win set three at 25-20.
INTO THE TWITTER-VERSE
MATCH NOTES
- Julianna Dalton led the Cougs with seven total kills in the match on 20 attacks. Dalton also added three digs to her stat line.
- Hannah Pukis anchored the offense with 25 assists on the day. She added five digs and four kills during the contest as well.
- Washington State now looks to Selection Sunday, tomorrow April 4 as the NCAA will announce the 48-team national championship tournament beginning at 1 p.m. (PT) on ESPNU.
