TUCSON, Ariz. – The 24th-ranked Arizona volleyball team opened the 2019 season with a pair of sweeps of Appalachian State and Loyola Marymount on day 1 of the Cactus Classic.
 
The Wildcats (2-0) wrap up the event vs. Samford (0-2) on Saturday at noon MST.

Match 1: Arizona 3, Appalachian State 0 (25-12, 25-19, 25-14)
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Twenty-fourth-ranked Arizona volleyball opened the 2019 season with a dominant straight-set victory over Appalachian State (25-12, 25-19, 25-14) in the first match of the Cactus Classic in McKale Center on Friday morning.
 
Arizona outhit Appalachian State .298 to .060 in the match, using eight blocks to help its cause on the defensive side. Both Zyonna Fellows and Elizabeth Shelton posted four blocks apiece.
 
Offensively, Arizona was led by Katie Smoot, who had 12 kills on .393 hitting. Smoot added an ace, a pair of digs and a block.

Set 1 (Arizona 25, Appalachian State 12): Arizona dominated the opening set, outhitting Appalachian State .423-.161, cruising to a 25-12 victory in the season's opening set. Katie Smoot and Paige Whipple led the way with four kills apiece.

Set 2 (Arizona 25, Appalachian State 19): The Wildcats separated themselves late to take the second set and take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Set 3 (Arizona 25, Appalachian State 14): Arizona held Appalachian State to a match-low .097 hitting percentage in the third set. The Cats scored 13 of the final 15 points in the set to run away with the match.

Match 2: Arizona 3, LMU 0 (25-18, 26-24, 25-21)
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Arizona took down Loyola Marymount in the nightcap, defeating the Lions in a trio of closely-contested sets (25-18, 26-24, 25-21) in front of 1,495 fans at McKale Center in Friday's nightcap.

Katie Smoot once again led the way for the Wildcats setting career-highs in aces (4) and digs (10) to go along with her team-high-tying 10 kills on .350 hitting, good for her first career double-double. Paige Whipple joined Smoot with 10 kills in the match.

UA outhit LMU .362-.232 in the match, boosted by an efficient outing from Elizabeth Shelton, who had nine kills on just 13 swings.

Set 1 (Arizona 25, Loyola Marymount 18): The Cats came out of the gates strong in the first, hitting .391 in the opening frame and getting three aces from Smoot to take a 1-0 lead.

Set 2 (Arizona 26, Loyola Marymount 24): Arizona and LMU battled back-and-forth in the well-fought second set. Tied at 22, Arizona scored two straight points to earn a pair of set points, but LMU fought them off to force deuce. UA scored the final two points to take a 2-0 lead into intermission.

Set 3 (Arizona 25, Appalachian State 21): In the third, the Wildcats needed just 21 swings to produce 12 kills (.429) and used four aces to win the set and sweep the match.