TUCSON, Ariz. -- The snow melted away from Bear Down Beach, and the Arizona Wildcats were able to kick-off the 2019 regular season as they played host to three teams competing in the Cactus Classic today. The Cats started the day with convincing wins over Colorado Mesa (5-0) and Benedictine at Mesa (5-0) before taking down Boise State (3-2) in a close match that was clinched by freshmen Jasmine Safar and Sarah Blacker in a tight three-set match. 

"It builds confidence for sure... It's good to see the work your putting in pay off in competition," said head coach Coach Steve Walker.

Highlighting the Arizona victories were pairs Jonny Baham & Brooke Burling who went 3-0 as did Ainise Havili and Dana Parker. 

"We played the scrimmage," Walker continued, "attached some data to it, set a good lesson plan throughout the week of practice, and we got better throughout the course. We did those things better today... We're going to keep working hard, keep getting better, and we'll see what happens on gameday." 


CACTUS CLASSIC COMPLETE RESULTS (Saturday, February 23)

Boise St. def. Benedictine at Mesa (5-0) | BOX SCORE (PDF)

No. 13 Arizona def. Colorado Mesa (5-0) | BOX SCORE (PDF)

No.13 Arizona def. Benedictine at Mesa (5-0) | BOX SCORE (PDF)

Boise St. def. Colorado Mesa  (5-0) | BOX SCORE (PDF)

Colorado Mesa def. Benedictine at Mesa (3-2) | BOX SCORE (PDF)

No.13 Arizona def. Boise State (3-2) | BOX SCORE (PDF)



The Wildcats have a week to prepare for the start of Pac-12 competition as they are set to play host again, this time to USC, UCLA, Cal, Stanford, ASU, Washington, and Oregon during the Pac-12 South Invitational Tournament beginning March 2. For more details, check out our schedule.

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