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#14 ARIZONA VS. UTAH

Date: Sunday, Oct. 25

Time: 11:00 a.m. MST

T.V./Stream: Pac-12 Networks (Chris Marlowe, Elizabeth Moreau)

Live Stats: arizonalivestats.com

Live Updates: Twitter (@ArizonaVBall)

THIS WEEK: After wrapping up a four-match road trip,14th-ranked Arizona (13-7, 3-5 Pac-12) returns to McKale Center for the first time in 21 days to host Colorado (12-8, 4-4 Pac-12) and Utah (7-12, 1-7 Pac-12) in a pair of matches on the Pac-12 Networks. The Wildcats will face the Buffaloes on Friday at 8 p.m. before taking on the Utes on Sunday at 11 a.m. MST. Colorado is coming off a sweep of the Bay Area schools, including a four-set victory over then-No. 6 Stanford, while Utah will be looking to recover from seven straight losses.

QUICK HITS

·         After beginning the season 8-0 for the fifth time in school history, Arizona has gone 5-7 in the 12 matches since, but has faced seven teams currently ranked in the top 13 of the AVCA Poll in that span.

·         Arizona is currently ranked 14th in the AVCA Top 25. UA is 13-0 against teams ranked lower than it and 0-7 against teams currently ranked ahead of it.

·         UA's 0-7 mark against the top teams in the country does not properly showcase the competitiveness of the matches. Arizona has taken eight sets off top-13 teams and has taken seven additional sets to deuce. Arizona is just 1-7 in sets decided by two points in its seven losses. Despite losing all seven of the matches, Arizona has only been outscored by a cumulative 53 points (677-624). “We're close,” said head coach Dave Rubio following a four-set loss at No. 1 USC. “But I'm tired of being close.”

·         Thirty of Arizona's 74 sets have been decided by three points or fewer. Arizona is just .500 in those sets (15-15). The Cats are 32-12 (.727) in sets decided by four or more points.

·         Kalei Mau, who averaged 1.27 kills/set in 2014, has 18 or more kills in 10 of Arizona's last 13 matches, including eight 20-plus-kill efforts. Her 5.25 kills/set in Pac-12 play lead the conference.

·         Following a nine-match span where Arizona's serve-receive was allowing a superb .457 aces/set, UA's defense broke down a bit on its four-match roadtrip, as the Cats allowed 1.125 aces/set. Part of that could have been due to the fact that Arizona faced the top six servers in the conference on the roadtrip.

·         Arizona leads the Pac-12 in digs (16.64/set), is third in kills (14.34/set) and is fourth in assists (13.14/set). Penina Snuka (10.97/set) leads the Pac-12 in assists.

·         Eleven of Arizona's 20 opponents have hit under .160 this season, including six under .100. Arizona is holding its opponents to a .179 cumulative hitting percentage which is sixth in the Pac-12.

·         The Wildcats are more than halfway to their third straight 20-win season. Prior to recording 21 (2013) and 24 (2014) wins each of the last two seasons, Arizona reached 20 victories just once in the previous seven seasons (2010; 20).

·         Despite losing its top three scorers from a season ago, Arizona has rebounded remarkably and is third in the Pac-12 in kills. Kalei Mau, who averaged 1.27 kills in her 49 sets as a sophomore in 2014, has starred in her increased role, averaging 4.71 kills/set, ninth in the country.  

·         Coinciding with the arrival of assistant coach Gregg Whitis, who works mainly with Arizona's defensive specialists, Arizona's defense has been historic the last two seasons and looks to be picking up right where it left off. UA posted its top two digs/set figures in school history each of the last two years, leading the Pac-12 with 17.87 digs/set in 2014, breaking the school record of 17.42 digs/set in 2013. Through 20 matches this year, UA leads the conference with 16.64 digs/set.

·         All-conference setter Penina Snuka currently leads the conference in assists (11.10/set). What makes this even more impressive is that she leads Arizona with 3.22 digs/set, taking her away from 3.22 assist opportunities every game. The junior ranks sixth in Arizona history with 3,242 assists and is approaching the top 10 in digs with 1,030.

OPPONENTS

Colorado: The Buffaloes (12-8, 4-4 Pac-12) come to Tucson on a high after downing then-sixth-ranked Stanford last week, part of their sweep of the Bay Area schools. CU has the conference's offensive (Gabby Simpson) and freshman (Naghede Abu) of the week. Colorado is one of only two teams all season to have taken top-ranked and undefeated USC to five sets. 

Series History: Arizona has won six of the nine all-time meetings between the two clubs, with Colorado picking up its only three victories in the last two seasons, including sweeping the Wildcats last season (full recap on page 5).

Utah: The Utes (7-12, 1-7 Pac-12) come to Arizona hoping to end a seven-match losing streak. Arizona will be the fifth ranked opponent Utah will face in the last six matches. Utah's Adora Anae has 11 double-doubles, one behind Penina Snuka, who leads the conference with 12. Anae leads the Utes with 4.14 kills/set on .225 hitting.

Series History: The Wildcats lead the all-time series 21-5 and have won seven of the eight meetings since Utah joined the Pac-12 in 2011 and nine of the last 10 overall. Arizona swept Utah last season in a pair of three-setters (full recap on page 6).

HEAD COACH DAVE RUBIO: The winningest active volleyball coach in the Pac-12, Dave Rubio is in his 24th season at the helm of the Arizona volleyball program. Rubio has led the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament in 17 of his 23 seasons as the head coach, including five of the last six seasons. Rubio, who guided the 2000 club to a Pac-10 title and the 2001 squad to the Final Four, holds a 453-270 (.629) all-time record at Arizona.

RANKINGS: Arizona remains ranked 14th in the AVCA Top 25. The Wildcats have been ranked as high as 13 this season (week 2). Arizona has not been ranked higher than 13th since finishing the 2005 season seventh. UA was 17th in the preseason rankings its highest preseason ranking since an identical ranking of 17th heading into the 2005 season. Arizona is one of seven Pac-12 teams in the poll. Arizona has been in 24 consecutive polls, dating back week 1 of last year, including 21 straight top-20 rankings. Arizona finished 2014 ranked 16th.

SETTING THE TONE: All-conference setter Penina Snuka has excelled in her two-plus seasons as the Wildcats' setter and will be the key piece in Arizona's success in 2015. Snuka was an honorable mention All-American a season ago when she totaled 1,234 assists (10.82/set) as well as 453 digs, third in Arizona history. Snuka led the Pac-12 in double-doubles in 2014 with 25. After just two seasons, Snuka is already sixth in Arizona history with 3,242 assists and moving quickly up the digs chart. Snuka is already 99 digs away from cracking the Arizona top 10 and 116 digs away from recording the most digs from a setter in school history.

CAN YOU DIG IT? Arizona has excelled the last two years, posting the two best dig/set totals in school history, including a school record 17.87 last season. Laura Larson returns after spending the summer as the starting libero for Team USA in the World University Games. Arizona also welcomes three transfers (Anna Panagiotakopoulos - West Virginia, McKenna Painton - Cal State Fullerton and Mackenzie Kleespies - James Madison) all of whom were the primary liberos at their previous schools. UA has led the conference in digs each of the last two seasons.

Arizona posted the seventh-highest dig total in school history when it dug 112 balls in the season-opener vs. SMU. Five of the top 11 dig totals in Arizona history have come since the start of the 2014 season. Kalei Mau notched 31 of those digs to be named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week. Mau's 31 digs are tied for fifth in Arizona history. In school history, there have been 10 30-plus dig matches, five of which have come since the start of the 2013 season.

FRESH FACES: When Arizona takes the court there will be plenty of new faces for fans to learn. Two-thirds of Arizona's roster (12 of 18) is made up of players that will see their first action for Arizona in 2015. This includes seven freshmen, four transfers and a redshirt freshman. Arizona's eight-player recruiting class is ranked 14th nationally and includes four top-100 recruits: Sarah Dixon (30), Tyler Spriggs (37), Kendra Dahlke (49) and Meghan Buzzerio (95). The four transfers should play an even greater role as they each bring an invaluable resource to the team: experience. UA welcomes honorable mention All-American Nikki Attea from West Virginia as well as the Mountaineer's primary libero Anna Panagiotakopoulos. Additionally the Cats welcome MacKenzie Kleespies from James Madison and McKenna Painton from Cal State Fullerton, both of whom served as the libero at their previous schools.

SWEET 16: PrepVolleyball.com ranked the Top 25 Division I Volleyball programs of all time, ranking Arizona 16th siting the 18 seasons Arizona has finished in the Top 25, including last year. This ranking is a credit to the work that head coach Dave Rubio has put in during his 23-plus years as the head coach at Arizona. Though there has always been high quality volleyball at Arizona, Rubio has taken things to a new level. Rubio took over a program that won four total tournament games in history and equaled that total within his first three years. In all, volleyball has been to 26 NCAA Tournaments, including five of the last six and 17 total under Rubio. Arizona has been to seven Sweet 16s, four Elite 8s and advanced to the 2001 Final Four. Arizona finished in the top five in five seasons, including a high of No. 4 in 2001.

A NEW LOOK: The Wildcats lose several key contributors from the 2014 club that will need to be replaced in 2015. In addition to the graduation of five key seniors, the Cats will also be without outside hitter Ashley Harris, who is taking a leave of absence for personal reasons. Harris, All-American Madi Kingdon and Taylor Arizobal were Arizona's primary scoring options last season, and all are gone now.  UA also lost starting libero Ronni Lewis and key role players MB Rachel Rhoades and DS Kennedy Wesley.

Though the Wildcats lose a significant amount of offense, all-conference setter Penina Snuka will have plenty of options to set this season, a majority of whom are in their first season with the program. UA welcomes three freshmen outside hitters, all of whom were top-100 recruits - Kendra Dahlke, Tyler Spriggs and Meghan Buzzerio. Additionally, the Cats welcome honorable mention All-American Nikki Attea from West Virginia for her senior season. Attea totaled 292 kills on .269 hitting in 2014. Junior outside hitter Kalei Mau, who saw limited action as a sophomore, will play a large role as well.

NEW DIGS: Historic McKale Center received a roughly-$30 million facelift prior to the 2014 season. The first phase of the multi-phase renovation included brand new seats in the arena, a new court, a new state-of-the-art video board, new LED screens around the arena, upgraded concessions and bathrooms in the concourse and a new locker room complete with a lounge area and kitchenette. Head coach Dave Rubio said of the facility, “Our goal was to have the nicest, most state-of-the-art locker room in the country. I think, thanks to our administration, that is exactly what we got. It's pretty exciting and beautiful.”

ALONG FOR THE RIDE: Follow the Arizona volleyball team on its various social media accounts to keep up with the Cats all season long.

Twitter: @ArizonaVBall

Instagram: @ArizonaVBall

YouTube: Arizona Volleyball

UP NEXT: Arizona hits the road once again, heading to the Bay Area next weekend to take on Stanford (Oct. 30) and Cal (Nov. 1).