Volleyball vs. Appalachian St. Coach Rubio

J.B. Coronado / for Arizona Athletics

Volleyball 09/12/2019 Arizona Athletics

Arizona Wraps Up Kansas Invitational with Two Matches on Saturday

KANSAS INVITATIONAL
SEPT. 13-14 • LAWRENCE, KAN. (HOREJSI FAMILY VOLLEYBALL ARENA)

Game Notes: Arizona Wildcats (5-2) • Kansas Jayhawks (4-3) • Morehead State Eagles (5-2) • Syracuse Orange (0-2)

THIS WEEK (Times MST)
Match 7 || Friday, Sept. 13 ||

0 || Recap || Box Score
Match 8 || Saturday, Sept. 14 (10 a.m.) ||

vs.

|| Live Stats || Twitter Updates
Match 9 || Saturday, Sept. 14 (5 p.m.) ||

vs.

|| Live Stats || Twitter Updates

WILDCATS SET FOR KANSAS INVITATIONAL

Arizona (4-2) will hit the road for the second straight week, heading east to participate in the Kansas Invitational, Sept. 13-14 in Lawrence, Kansas.
This is the penultimate nonconference weekend for Arizona this season, and final nonconference tournament on the road for the Wildcats, who host the Wildcat Classic, Sept. 20-21, to close out nonconference play.
This will be the first ever event in Kansas' new volleyball facility, the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena, which is set to open this weekend. This is Arizona's first trip to Lawrence in school history.
This weekend, Arizona will meet the host Jayhawks (3-2), Morehead State (5-1) and Syracuse (0-2) in the two-day event. The Cats meet KU on Friday (4:30 p.m.) before concluding the event vs. Morehead State (10 a.m.) and Syracuse (5 p.m.) on Saturday.
Live Coverage: Live stats will be available for all three matches at ArizonaStats.com ... Arizona's match vs. Kansas will be streamed for free at KUAthletics.com ... Follow this weekend's action and all season long on Twitter (@ArizonaVBall).

QUICK HITS

Following a 2-1 weekend at the SDSU/USD Invitational, the Wildcats will head out for their final nonconference road tournament this weekend at the Kansas Invitational in Lawrence.
Arizona has been led by its defense through two weeks of the season. UA has held its first six opponents to a .166 hitting percentage, with five of the first six opponents held under .220 hitting.
The Wildcats are 4-0 when posting a better hitting percentage than their opponents and 0-2 when they are outhit by their opponent.
Arizona leads the Pac-12 with 321 digs through two weeks of the season. The Wildcats are led by freshman libero Kamaile Hiapo's 3.55 digs/set. Hiapo's 78 digs are the most by a Pac-12 freshman (and third overall). Last week vs. West Virginia, Hiapo posted 27 digs in Arizona's four-set win, tied for the most digs in a match by a freshman in UA history.
Arizona is set to open the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena, Kansas' new volleyball facility. The Kansas Invitational will be the first ever event in the brand new arena, which was finished this summer. This will be Arizona's first ever trip to Lawrence, Kansas in program history.
Senior setter Julia Patterson, who currently sits ninth in school history with 2,591 assists, has a chance to move up the Arizona career record charts this weekend. Patterson, who is averaging 9.23 assists/set, is 101 assists from Michaela Ebben (2,692 assists; 1994-96), who currently sits eighth.
Junior outside hitter Paige Whipple had a breakout week last weekend in San Diego, averaging 4.09 kills/set on .274 hitting. She also finished second on the team in digs (3.00/set). Whipple had a pair of double-doubles, including a 19-kill, 16-dig outing vs. West Virginia. Whipple has double-digit kills in five straight matches.
Senior defensive specialist Emi Pua'a had seven aces last week and has at least one ace in four straight matches. She ranks third in the Pac-12 in aces (8).
Head coach Dave Rubio is in his 28th season as the Wildcats' head coach. Last season, Rubio became the second coach in Pac-12 history to surpass 500 victories as a league coach and currently has a career record of 516-323 (.615) at Arizona.
Arizona is averaging 2.36 blocks/set this season, up significantly from its 2.11 blocks/set it averaged last season. On Saturday vs. West Virginia, Arizona had 16.0 blocks, its most in a single match since its 16 vs. New Mexico State on Sept. 16, 2017 (5 sets) and most in a four-set match since Nov. 1, 2015 vs. California.
Two Wildcats, Zyonna Fellows (1.36) and Devyn Cross (1.27) are averaging more than 1.25 blocks/set. Arizona has not had two players average more than a block per set since 2013 (Olivia Magill and Halli Amaro).

KANSAS JAYHAWKS (3-2)

Team Notes: Kansas is set for its first home matches in a brand new facility this week following a 1-2 weekend at the UCF Challenge, sweeping Albany before falling to South Carolina and UCF to close the event ... While the KU offense has struggled to start the season (11.22 kills/set on .190 hitting), Kansas averages 2.33 blocks/set , led by Rachel Langs' 1.40 mark.
Head Coach: Ray Bechard (22nd season; 392-254)
Series History: Arizona 1, Kansas 0
Last Meeting: 9/31/2013; #20 Kansas 3, Arizona 1 (25-27, 25-15, 25-23, 25-20); Tucson, Ariz.

MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (5-1)

Team Notes: Morehead State rides a five-match winning streak into the Kansas Invitational after sweeping Presbyterian, Georgia State and Providence at home last weekend ... Olivia Lohmeier leads the Eagels, averaging 4.45 kills/set this season ... Morehead State is averaging nearly 15 kills per set (14.45) while holding their opponents under 10 (9.36).
Head Coach: Jaime Gordon (17th season ; 291-227)
Series History: This will be the first ever meeting between Arizona and Morehead State.

SYRACUSE ORANGE (0-2)

Team Notes: Syracuse opened the season last week vs. a pair of ranked opponents, falling in straight sets to #17 Baylor and #11 Marquette ... The Orange struggled offensively in the matches, managing just 9.67 kills per set on .124 hitting ... Polina Shemanova leads Syracuse, averaging 3.50 kills per set.
Head Coach: Leonid Yelin (8th season; 108-111)
Series History: Arizona 1, Syracuse 0
Last Meeting: 9/11/2015; Arizona 3, Syracuse 1 (16-25, 25-21,25-23, 25-18); Brooklyn, N.Y.

RANKINGS

Arizona began the season ranked 24th in the AVCA Top 25, but fell out of the poll after week 1.
Arizona is currently 0-1 this season vs. ranked opponents. Arizona will play six more opponents (11 total matches) currently ranked in the top 25.

DOMINANT DEVYN

2018 honorable mention AVCA All-American middle blocker Devyn Cross returns for her senior season with high expectations, looking to build on what was a breakout junior campaign.
Cross averaged 2.06 kills, 1.03 blocks and hit .361 last season, becoming the first Wildcat since Jolene Killough in 2004 to post a 2.0 kill/1.0 block/.350 hit% season and just the fifth Wildcat all-time to do so. She was one of two players in the conference to achieve the three marks.
Cross did not play week 1, but made an immediate impact in week 2, posting 1.36 kills/set on .294 hitting and adding 1.36 blocks/set, including a career-high-tying nine vs. West Virginia.
The Edwards Air Force Base, California has 318 career blocks, 26 shy of joining the Arizona career top 10.
Cross hit .361 last season, eighth best hitting percentage in school history, and is hitting .313 for her Arizona career. That currently ranks fifth in school history.

SETTING THE TONE

Setter Julia Patterson returns for her senior season, looking to build on an all-conference honorable mention junior campaign, when she led the Pac-12 in double-doubles (20) and was fourth in assists/set (10.74).
Last season, Patterson became the ninth player in Arizona history to surpass 2,000 career assists and currently sits ninth in school history with 2,591 career assists, 101 assists from moving into eighth place.
In her two previous seasons as UA's starting setter, Patterson finished in the top five in the conference in assists/set both years. As a junior in 2018, Patterson finished fourth in the league (10.74) and as a sophomore in 2017, Patterson finished fifth (10.14).

BIG SHOES TO FILL

While Arizona returns the majority of its impact players from a season ago, UA will lose a huge source of offense on the left side with departed senior Kendra Dahlke, who led the Pac-12 last season, averaging 4.77 kills/set.
Paige Whipple has stepped up this season, averaging 3.50 kills/set on .244 hitting and has received the bulk of the swings for the Wildcats (217).
Katie Smoot (2.82 kills/set) and Elizabeth Shelton (2.00 kills/set) have also provided offense from the pins this season.

RUN IT BACK

The Cats return the large majority of their core from last season; of the eight players that played 100-or-more sets last season, seven of them are back in 2019. Of UA's 2018 team totals, the Wildcats return 62% of their kills (1,065 of 1,733), 99% of their assists (1,566 of 1,584), 86% of their digs (1,652 of 1,919) and 83% of their individual blocks (378 of 458).
Arizona returns four seniors, all of whom have played significant roles throughout their careers. Between the four of them -- three four year players and one second-year transfer -- they have combined to play 1,007 sets in their careers, led by three-year starting middle blocker Devyn Cross (316) and three-year starting defensive specialist (freshman) and libero (sophomore/junior) Makenna Martin (306).

DIGGING IN FROM DAY 1

Freshman Kamaile Hiapo has started Arizona's first six matches at libero. She became the first freshman to start at libero for Arizona in at least 15 seasons and is UA's first freshman to see extended time at the position since Candace Nicholson (2010).
Hiapo is the top digging freshman in the Pac-12 and ranks third overall with 78 digs through six matches (3.55/set).
The freshman had 27 digs in a four-set victory over West Virginia (9/7), tying the Arizona freshman record for digs in a match. With 78 digs, Hiapo is already nearly halfway to cracking UA's freshman top-10 list. She'll need 134 digs to move into 10th place.

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Players Mentioned

#8 Kendra Dahlke: OH; 6' 0"; Senior

#13 Devyn Cross: MB; 6' 0"; Senior

#16 Zyonna Fellows: MB; 6' 4"; Sophomore

#22 Makenna Martin: L/DS; 5' 9"; Senior

#4 Julia Patterson: S; 5' 11"; Senior

#33 Emi Pua'a: L/DS; 5' 6"; Senior

#17 Elizabeth Shelton: OH/OPP; 6' 2"; Redshirt Junior

#6 Katie Smoot: OH/OPP; 6' 2"; Junior

#10 Paige Whipple: OH; 6' 1"; Junior

#8 Kamaile Hiapo: L/DS; 5' 7"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#8 Kendra Dahlke
: 6' 0"; Senior
: OH

#13 Devyn Cross
: 6' 0"; Senior
: MB

#16 Zyonna Fellows
: 6' 4"; Sophomore
: MB

#22 Makenna Martin
: 5' 9"; Senior
: L/DS

#4 Julia Patterson
: 5' 11"; Senior
: S

#33 Emi Pua'a
: 5' 6"; Senior
: L/DS

#17 Elizabeth Shelton
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Junior
: OH/OPP

#6 Katie Smoot
: 6' 2"; Junior
: OH/OPP

#10 Paige Whipple
: 6' 1"; Junior
: OH

#8 Kamaile Hiapo
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: L/DS

University of Arizona Athletics

Scoreboard

Arizona Wraps Up Kansas Invitational with Two Matches on Saturday

Players Mentioned

#8 Kendra Dahlke

#13 Devyn Cross

#16 Zyonna Fellows

#22 Makenna Martin

#4 Julia Patterson

#33 Emi Pua'a

#17 Elizabeth Shelton

#6 Katie Smoot

#10 Paige Whipple

#8 Kamaile Hiapo

Players Mentioned

#8 Kendra Dahlke

#13 Devyn Cross

#16 Zyonna Fellows

#22 Makenna Martin

#4 Julia Patterson

#33 Emi Pua'a

#17 Elizabeth Shelton

#6 Katie Smoot

#10 Paige Whipple

#8 Kamaile Hiapo