ARIZONA 3, #20 OREGON 2 (27-25, 17-25, 21-25, 25-13, 15-11)
Friday, October 28 | 7 p.m. MST
Recap | Box Score

ARIZONA (14-9, 6-5 Pac-12) at OREGON STATE (8-14, 1-10 Pac-12)
Sunday, October 30 | 12 p.m. MST
Live Stream | Live Stats | Live Updates | Arizona Notes | Oregon State Notes
 

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CATS AT A GLANCE

• The second half on the conference season is upon us as the Cats are set to take on No. 20 Oregon and Oregon State in the Beaver State. Arizona split with the teams earlier this season in Tucson, sweeping Oregon State but falling in four to then-No. 21 Oregon.
• Pac-12 volleyball comes at you fast. Just two weeks ago, Arizona was just one set away from their fourth straight Pac-12 road win vs. last-place California, which would have put the Wildcats in first place in the conference. After losing a five-setter at Cal and two straight to Washington State and Washington, Arizona is .500 and eighth in the Pac-12. Still, Arizona is just two games out of second as the Cats make the turn to the second half of conference play.
• Arizona is beginning to play well and play to its potential in large part due to its health. Arizona's top three scorers (Kendra Dahlke - concussion; Kalei Mau - dislocated shoulder & slipped disc; Katarina Pilepic - broken finger) have all missed extended time this year. The trio have been in the starting lineup together just nine times this season, including the last six matches.
• This week, Penina Snuka was named one of the 10 best setters in the country by FloVolleyball. Snuka averages 10.35 assists and 3.10 digs per set. The senior leads the Pac-12 in total assists (838) and second in double-doubles (14), including each of Arizona's last five matches. 
• Arizona's success this season can be traced to where it all starts: serve and pass. In Arizona's 13 wins, UA is averaging 1.71 aces/set while in losses, the Cats are averaging just 0.92 per set. Additionally, in losses the Cats have allowed 1.22 aces/set compared to just 0.69/set in victories.
• Over the last three years, Arizona is 47-8 (.855) vs. unranked competition and 9-25 (.265) vs. ranked teams since the start of 2014.
• Arizona's opponents (future and past matches) have a combined record of 300-166 (.644), making the Wildcats' schedule the eighth hardest in the country.
• Kendra Dahlke is enjoying a breakout campaign in her sophomore year. After averaging 1.57 kills/set as a freshman with four double-digit kill matches, Dahlke leads the Wildcats with 4.04 kills/set and has had 10-or-more kills in 18 of the 20 matches she has played in. Dahkle is third in the Pac-12 in kills.
• Earlier this season, Penina Snuka became the fifth player in school history to surpass the 4,000 career assist plateau, and has since moved into third in Wildcat history with 4,617. Now, Snuka will turn her sites on the 5,000-assist club, where on only one other Wildcat resides: Dana Burkholder (5,424 career assists).
• 2016 marks the 25th season as the head coach of the Wildcats for Dave Rubio, the conference's active leader victories as a Pac-10/12 coach (472). In 2016, the team will celebrate his quarter century of excellence, which includes a 2000 Pac-10 championship and a trip to the 2001 Final Four.
• After finishing second-to-last in the Pac-12 in aces/set a year ago (0.85/set), the Wildcats are second in the conference in aces nine weeks into 2016 (1.36/set). Penina Snuka, who had never averaged more than 0.2 aces/set in her career, leads the team and is fifth in the Pac-12 with 0.31 aces/set.
• Penina Snuka is third in Arizona history with 4,617 career assists and second with 1,460 career digs. Snuka has led the Pac-12 in double-doubles in each of her previous three seasons at Arizona. She has 14 this year, giving her 80 for her career.

 
THIS WEEK: An 0-3 stretch that followed a historic 3-0 has the Wildcats at 13-9 overall, 5-5 in the Pac-12 as the conference schedule turns to the second half. Arizona will begin the stretch run at Oregon and Oregon State; the Cats split with the Ducks and Beavers earlier this season.
 
When Arizona takes on 20th-ranked Oregon on Friday, it will mark a stretch of 10 matches in which Arizona will face eight ranked opponents. Such is life in the Pac-12, which has seven teams ranked in this week's AVCA Top 25, and two more receiving votes.
 
Arizona opens the weekend vs. the Ducks on Friday at 7 p.m. before heading to Corvallis to take on Oregon State at noon on Sunday. Neither game will be televised, but live stream information is available above.
 
OPPONENTS
Oregon: The 20th-ranked Ducks (14-5, 7-3 Pac-12) are coming off a road sweep of Utah and Colorado last weekend ... UO begins the second half of the Pac-12 slate in a three-way tie for second place, one match behind first-place Washington ... Oregon features the best offense in the Pac-12; the Ducks lead the league in hitting percentage (.281), assists (13.61/set) and kills (14.48/set) ... In addition to its stellar offense, the Ducks have the top libero in the conference; Amanda Benson averages 5.10 digs/set.
 
Oregon State: The Beavers (8-13, 1-9 Pac-12) have lost six straight matches, but showed positive signs last weekend, taking a set from RV Colorado and taking No. 20 Utah to five sets ... The Beavers have two of the top eight offensive weapons in the conference - Mary-Kate Marshall (4.06 kills/set) and Lanesha Reagan (3.45 kills/set), but no one else has contributed more than 2.4 kills/set.
 
RANKINGS: Arizona is receiving votes in this week's AVCA Top 25.
 
STARING AT THE STATS: Laura Larson (123) is tied for seventh place in school history in matches played, with Snuka one behind her at 122. Larson has played in every match of her career and should surpass Madi Kingdon and Ronni Lewis' school record of 129 career matches played ... In 10 Pac-12 matches, Arizona is averaging 16.88 digs/set, up from 14.61/set in nonconference matches ... Kalei Mau had 20 kills and 23 digs vs. Washington on Sunday for her first career 20-20 match; it was her sixth double-double the season ... Penina Snuka currently leads the Pac-12 in total assists (838). She led the conference in total assists last season ... Arizona's 73 kills vs. Stanford last Friday are the third most in the NCAA this year in a four-set match ... Three of Arizona's nine losses this year have come in five sets; the Cats are just 1-3 in five-set matches.
 
SETTING THE TONE: All-conference setter Penina Snuka has excelled in her three-plus seasons as the Wildcats' setter. Snuka has been an honorable mention All-American each of the last two seasons. Snuka has led the Pac-12 in double-doubles in each of her three seasons at Arizona (2013 - 19, 2014 - 25, 2015 - 22) and has 14 in 2016, second in the conference. Snuka is currently third in Arizona history with 4,617 assists and is Arizona's top digging setter (second overall) with 1,460 digs.
 
CAN YOU DIG IT? After leading the conference in digs each of the last three years, Arizona is fourth this year, averaging 15.67 digs/set. Laura Larson is eighth in the league, averaging 3.83 digs/set. The senior has double-digit digs in 34 of Arizona's last 37 matches.
 
WHAT SOPHOMORE SLUMP? After averaging 1.57 kills/set as a part-time player in 2015, Kendra Dahlke has burst onto the scene in a big way as a sophomore. Dahlke leads Arizona with 4.04 kills/set and has had double-digit kills in 18 of her 20 matches. In 2015, she had four total double-digit kill efforts. Dahlke is third in the Pac-12 in both kills/set (4.04) and points/set (4.54).
 
PUTTING THE TEAM ON HER BACK: In the 47 matches that Kalei Mau has played in since the start of 2015, she has led the team (or tied for the team lead) in kills in 35 of those matches. Mau's 10 20-plus kill matches in that span rank eighth in a career in Arizona history.
 
ACE IN THE HOLE: Arizona leads the Pac-12 with 110 aces after finishing in the bottom third of the conference each of the last three years. The Wildcats' 110 aces are six more than their 2015 total in 11 fewer matches. Six Wildcats have double digit aces: Penina Snuka (25), Laura Larson (16), Makenna Martin (14), Reilly Killeen (13), Kalei Mau (12) and Katarina Pilepic (11).
 
PERFECT 10: Arizona's 2016 recruiting class was ranked as the 10th best class in the country by PrepVolleyball.com. The Cats have seven freshmen, including two top-100 recruits (#60 Shardonee Hayes & #67 Julia Patterson).
 
A CLASS OF THEIR OWN: Arizona's senior class has won 76 matches, with the opportunity to become the winningest class in over a decade. Should the 2016 team win five more matches, it will make the senior class the winningest in Arizona history since the 2003 class won 90. These seniors are trying to become Arizona's first to make four NCAA Tournament appearances since the 2005 class capped off Arizona's run of 10 straight NCAA Tournaments.
 
FOLLOW THE CATS: Get a behind-the-scenes look at the Arizona volleyball team on its various social media accounts to keep up with the Cats all season long.
 
Twitter: @ArizonaVBall
Instagram: @ArizonaVBall
YouTube: Arizona Volleyball
 
UP NEXT: The Wildcats return home next weekend to host USC and UCLA.