TUCSON, Ariz. – For the fifth time in five weeks, Arizona volleyball took down a ranked opponent, beating 25th-ranked USC in five sets at McKale Center on Wednesday night (25-23, 18-25, 22-25, 25-17, 15-7).
 
Arizona's victory over the Trojans secured a season sweep over USC for the first time since 2001. Arizona's five victories over ranked teams mark the most since 2009.
 
The Wildcats overcame a slow start to win the final two sets and take the victory in five sets. Arizona hit .084 in the first three sets before rebounding to hit .396 over the final two to help put it away.
 
"Certainly was a little dicey there in the beginning," said head coach Dave Rubio. "I think we were able to, as the match went on, play a little bit sharper. But it was touch and go there for a while. I'm really proud on how we hung in there and stayed true to what we were trying to do every day, and that's to just mentally stay in a match."
 
Penina Snuka had 47 assists and 24 digs, her eighth consecutive double-double and 17th overall this season. 
 
Arizona's back row was great once again, outdigging USC 80-75 in the match. Four Wildcats (Snuka - 24, Laura Larson - 19, Kalei Mau - 12, McKenna Painton - 10) posted double-figure digs for the Cats. For Larson, it was her fourth straight match with 17 or more digs and 37th double-digit dig match in her last 40.
 
Kendra Dahlke led the Cats with 19 kills and missed a double-double by just one dig. Mau (15) and McKenzie Jacobson (10) had 10-or-more kills as well in the match. 
 
"Well that wasn't our cleanest match of the year," said Mau. "We can definitely take this and learn from it. We actually talked about this as a team for a really long time after the Oregon State match that we need to come together. The only way that we are going to succeed is if people come in 100 percent do their job, take care of their responsibilities, and work together as a team. We definitely came through with the win even though we didn't play the way we wanted, but that is the most important part."
 
Devyn Cross led Arizona with four blocks. The freshman added seven kills on .400 hitting as well.
 
With the win, Arizona is now 6-1 in the first game of a Pac-12 series. Now, Arizona will try to do what it has struggled to do this year: win game 2. The Cats are just 1-5 in the second game of Pac-12 week/weekends. Arizona welcomes No. 9 UCLA on Friday at 6 p.m. MST. 
 
Overall, Arizona improved to 15-10 (7-6 Pac-12) on the season while the Trojans fell to 15-9 (7-6 Pac-12).
 
The Wildcats struggled to get going early in the first set, trailing by six points and posting a negative hitting percentage until Laura Larson served Arizona to a 6-0 run to turn a 17-12 USC lead into an 18-17 Wildcat advantage. The teams traded points from there, with the Wildcats scoring the final two to secure the first set, 25-23.
 
Arizona carried that momentum into the second set, taking the first four points. But it would be USC that erased the early deficit in this set as the Trojans battled back to dominate, 25-18.
 
The Trojans led the majority of the third set, opening up a 20-15 lead on the Wildcats. UA went on a 6-1 run to tie the third set, but the Trojans prevailed, 25-22 to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
UA bounced back in a big way in the fourth. The Cats hit .424 and, led by Kendra Dahlke's eight kills, Arizona cruised to a 25-17 victory to force a fifth set.
 
It was all Arizona from that point forward, as Arizona asserted itself in the fifth, winning 15-7 to take the match.
 
UP NEXT: Arizona hosts No. 9 UCLA on Friday at 6 p.m. MST. Arizona is in search of its first season sweep of UCLA since 2011.
 
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