TUCSON, Ariz. -- Arizona swept Lipscomb and San Diego State on day 1 of the Cactus Classic to improve to 5-0 on the season. UA wraps up the event with Pacific at noon on Saturday.
"I thought we were very efficient vs. Lipscomb," said head coach
Dave Rubio, who earned career wins No. 494 and 495 on the day. "But tonight (vs. San Diego State) we weren't that sharp. We need to find a way to be more consistent. Pacific is a terrific team. They serve and pass very well and we're going to have to at our best tomorrow."
Match 1: Arizona 3, Lipscomb 0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-13)
Kendra Dahlke became the 18th player in Arizona history to record 1,000 career kills as she led Arizona to a sweep of Lipscomb in the first match of the Cactus Classic.
Dahlke, the Pac-12 leader in kills entering Friday, had another monster match, posting 18 kills on .515 hitting, none sweeter than her 12th of the match, a back-row attack in the second set, her 1,000th career kill.
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Julia Patterson ran an incredibly efficient offense in the match. As a team, UA had 46 kills on just 88 swings. It hit .432 as a team, upping its season hitting percentage to .310, strengthening its Pac-12 lead and improving to 10th nationally. Patterson had 35 assists in the match.
Devyn Cross tied a career high with nine kills on 11 error-free swings. She hit .818 in the match and added a block, an ace and a dig in the sweep.
Shardonee Hayes, who received the start at middle blocker, led the team with a career-high five blocks. She added a career-high five kills in the match.
Arizona dominated the first set with another big offensive frame. UA outhit Lipscomb .441-.176, led by a monster effort from Dahlke, who has seven kills on 12 error-free swings. UA won the set, 25-17, to take the early lead in the match.
In the second set, Dahlke notched her 1,000th kill, one of her seven in the set, once again leading the way to another Wildcat victory, 25-20.Â
After huge offensive frames in sets 1 and 2, it was UA's defense that led it in the third set. Arizona had five of its seven blocks in the third set and held Lipscomb to -.067 hitting in a 25-13 victory to sweep the match.
Match 2: Arizona 3, San Diego State 0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-17)
In Friday's nightcap, Arizona swept San Diego State (25-22, 25-19, 25-17) to improve to 5-0 on the season and complete its six-sets-to-zero sweep of day 1 of the Cactus Classic.
UA outhit San Diego State .269 to .105 and outblocked the Aztecs 8-4.
Kendra Dahlke led the Wildcats once again, posting her third 20-kill match of the season, posting 20 kills on .261 hitting.
Paige Whipple posted a season-best 12 kills in the outing.
"We are trying to get Paige to where she was before she had the surgery," said Rubio. "The last couple days I started to see a little of her pop come back. It's good to see her playing well for us."
Shardonee Hayes had her second straight impressive match in her second straight start. After posting a career high with five kills vs. Lipscomb in the early match, Hayes was in on six of UA's eight blocks vs. San Diego State to set her new career mark.
Makenna Martin led Arizona in digs with 13, her fourth match of the season with double digit digs.
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In a back-and-forth first set, Arizona closed out the Aztecs, 25-22 to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Both
Kendra Dahlke and
Devyn Cross has five kills in the opener, Cross needing just seven swings to produce hers.
Arizona took a 2-0 lead into the break with a 25-19 victory in the second set.
Dahlke posted nine of her 20 kills in the third set and UA had its best offensive frame, posting a .438 hitting percentage, in its 25-17 victory to sweep the match.
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