Mike Christy / Arizona Athletics

Volleyball 09/05/2019 Arizona Athletics

Cats Face West Virginia, San Diego State on Saturday

SDSU/USD INVITATIONAL
SEPT. 6-7 • SAN DIEGO, CALIF.

Game Notes: (RV) Arizona Wildcats (2-2) • #2 Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-0) • West Virginia Mountaineers (3-0) • San Diego State Aztecs (2-1)

THIS WEEK (Times MST)
4 | Friday, Sept. 6 |

1 | Recap | Box Score
5 | Saturday, Sept. 7 (11 a.m.) |

vs.

| Live Stats | Twitter Updates

ARIZONA HITS THE ROAD FOR SDSU/USD INVITATIONAL

Arizona (2-1) will hit the road for the first time this season, participating in the SDSU/USD Invitational where a loaded field awaits the Wildcats.
UA will face defending national runners-up and second-ranked Nebraska (2-0) as well as West Virginia (3-0) and San Diego State (2-1) in the two-day, three-match event hosted by both the Aztecs and the University of San Diego.
The Wildcats open the event vs. Nebraska (4 p.m.) on Friday before taking on West Virginia (11 a.m.) and San Diego State (7 p.m. ) on Saturday. Arizona's matches vs. the Cornhuskers and Mountaineers will be in the Jenny Craig Pavilion (USD) before the Cats take on the Aztecs in Peterson Gym (SDSU).
Arizona's matches vs. Nebraska and West Virginia will be streamed on FloVolleyball.tv (subscription required); there will be no live stream available for UA's match vs. SDSU. Live stats will be available for all three matches; find links at ArizonaWildcats.com. Updates for all three matches and all season long can be found on the team's official Twitter account (@ArizonaVBall).
This will be Arizona's first nonconference trip to San Diego since defeating San Diego State in Peterson Gym in four sets on Sept. 1, 2004. UA competed in the NCAA Tournament in San Diego in 2013, sweeping New Mexico State to open the tournament before falling to host San Diego in the second round.

QUICK HITS

Arizona is set to hit the road for the first time this season; the Wildcats will face No. 2 Nebraska, West Virginia and San Diego State in the SDSU/USD Invitational in San Diego this weekend.
UA went 2-1 in the season-opening Cactus Classic in Tucson last weekend, sweeping Appalachian State and Loyola Marymount, but falling in five sets to Samford to close out the event. Arizona was without two starters for the weekend -- MB Devyn Cross and L Makenna Martin; Cross is expected to return this weekend.
Shardonee Hayes (1.0 kills, .250 hit%, 0.82 blocks/set) and Elizabeth Shelton (2.36 kills/set, .346 hit%, 0.73 blocks/set) were named to the Cactus Classic All-Tournament Team. It marks the first career all-tournament accolades for both upperclassmen.
The Wildcats' matchup with second-ranked Nebraska will feature UA's highest-ranked nonconference opponent since falling in five sets to No. 2 Texas on Sept. 18, 2015 in the Wildcat Classic in McKale.
Arizona's USD/SDSU opponents went a combined 7-1 on opening weekend, a trend that was consistent throughout UA's schedule. Arizona's 23 2019 opponents went a combined 49-15 (.766) to start the season.
Starting in place of Devyn Cross, sophomore middle blocker Zyonna Fellows played her best weekend of her career. Fellows led the team with 15 blocks (1.36/set), nearly double the next highest total (9 - Shardonee Hayes and Julia Patterson). Fellows' 15 blocks are the most by a Wildcat in the first three matches of the season since Cursty Jackson (15) in 2011.
With Makenna Martin out with an injury, Kamaile Hiapo received the start at libero last weekend, becoming Arizona's first true freshman to start the season opener at libero in at least 15 years. Hiapo led the team with 2.91 digs/set.
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).
Head coach Dave Rubio enters 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 514-322 (.615) at Arizona.
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).

#2 NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS (2-0)

Team Notes: The second-ranked and defending national runners up Nebraska Cornhuskers opened the season with victories over #18 Creighton (3-1) and UCLA (3-0) in the Husker Invitational in Lincoln, Nebraska ... Nebraska held both of its opponents under .100 hitting last weekend and is holding opponents to an .074 mark so far this season ... Libero Kenzie Knuckles was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week after posting 5.86 digs/set in her first two collegiate matches.
Head Coach: John Cook (20th season; 562-76)
Series History: Nebraska 5, Arizona 1
Last Meeting: 9/7/2002; #2 Nebraska 3, #11 Arizona 1 (23-30, 30-19, 30-15, 32-30); Tucson, Ariz.

WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS (3-0)

Team Notes: After a second-round appearance in the 2018 NCAA Tournament, Loyola Marymount is receiving votes in the preseason AVCA Top 25 ... LMU was picked fourth in the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll ... Three Lions -- Tess Reid, Megan Rice and Savannah Slattery -- were named to the preseason all-conference team.
Head Coach: Reed Sunahara (5th season ; 49-74)
Series History: This will be the first ever meeting between Arizona and West Virginia.

SAN DIEGO STATE AZTECS (2-1)

Team Notes: San Diego State is coming off a 2-1 showing at the Florida Gulf Coast Classic with sweeps of Akron and Bryant and a five-set loss to host Florida Gulf Coast ... Camryn Machado was named Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week after averaging 11.55 assists and 3.82 digs in the season-opening weekend ... Hannah Turnlund led the Aztecs with 3.37 kills/set in week 1; she was named to the all-tournament team.
Head Coach: Deitre Collins-Parker (11th season; 158-148)
Series History: San Diego State 20, Arizona 9 (1 tie)
Last Meeting: 8/31/2018; Arizona 3, San Diego State 0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-17); Tucson, Ariz.

RANKINGS

Arizona began the season ranked 24th in the AVCA Top 25, but fell out of the poll after week 1. The Wildcats are receiving votes in this week's top 25.
The Wildcats have been ranked 326 weeks all time, 10th most ever in the NCAA.
UA is set to play six teams currently ranked in the top 25, beginning this week with No. 2 Nebraska.

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.
The Edwards Air Force Base, California native enters her senior season with 303 career blocks, 41 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 enters 2019 ninth in school history with 2,388 career assists.
In her two seasons as UA's starting setter, Patterson has finished in the top five in the conference in assists/set both years. As a junior in 2018, Patterson finsiehd 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.
UA will turn to Paige Whipple, who finished second on the team in kills last season (3.13/set) and Katie Smoot (2.24 kills/set) as well as Elizabeth Shelton, who missed the final 11 weeks of 2018 with a concussion as well as sophomore Whittnee Nihipali, to step up on the outside.

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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

#3 Shardonee Hayes: MB; 6' 3"; Redshirt Junior

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

#18 Whittnee Nihipali: OH; 6' 1"; Sophomore

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

#3 Shardonee Hayes
: 6' 3"; Redshirt Junior
: MB

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

#18 Whittnee Nihipali
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: OH

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

#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

Cats Face West Virginia, San Diego State on Saturday

Players Mentioned

#8 Kendra Dahlke

#13 Devyn Cross

#16 Zyonna Fellows

#3 Shardonee Hayes

#22 Makenna Martin

#18 Whittnee Nihipali

#4 Julia Patterson

#17 Elizabeth Shelton

#6 Katie Smoot

#10 Paige Whipple

#8 Kamaile Hiapo

Players Mentioned

#8 Kendra Dahlke

#13 Devyn Cross

#16 Zyonna Fellows

#3 Shardonee Hayes

#22 Makenna Martin

#18 Whittnee Nihipali

#4 Julia Patterson

#17 Elizabeth Shelton

#6 Katie Smoot

#10 Paige Whipple

#8 Kamaile Hiapo