Sept. 27, 2012

Game Notes

TUCSON, Ariz. - After having nearly a week off from competition, the Arizona volleyball returns to action this weekend with matches against No. 7 Stanford and California inside the McKale Center.

The Last Meeting Stanford 3 Arizona 1 October 21, 2011 Tucson, Ariz. Arizona Falls to No. 5 Stanford, 3-1 The Arizona volleyball team fell to No. 5 Stanford, 3-1 (25-23, 25-22, 22-25, 25-17) at McKale Center on Friday night. Recap | Photo Gallery

The Last Meeting California 3 Arizona 0 October 22, 2011 Tucson, Ariz. No. 2 California Defeats Arizona, 3-0 In its fourth match against a top-five team in six matches, the Arizona volleyball team (13-7, 5-7) fell to No. 2 California (21-2, 11-2), 3-0, (27-25, 25-23, 27-25) Saturday night at McKale Center. Recap | Photo Gallery

The Wildcats will host No. 7 Stanford (10-2, 2-0 Pac-12) on Friday at 7 p.m. before closing out their 10-match homestand against Cal (7-5, 1-1 Pac-12) on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. Sunday's match will air live on the Pac-12 Networks.

The Wildcats enter Friday's contest with a 9-4 overall record and a 1-1 mark in Pac-12 play. Arizona opened conference play with a victory over rival Arizona State, but fell last Saturday to No. 5 Washington.

Sophomore Madi Kingdon (Phoenix, Ariz.) ranks in the top-five of the Pac-12 in both kills and points. Kingdon ranks third in kills (4.47 p/s) and fifth in points (4.86 p/s). She leads the Wildcats with five double-doubles and has recorded double-figure kills in 12 of the team's 13 matches. Junior libero Candace Nicholson (Long Beach, Calif.) ranks third in the Pac-12 in digs at 4.33 per set. Nicholson recorded 20-plus digs in both matches last week.

Stanford has had plenty of success over Arizona through the years. The Cardinal owns a 57-7 overall record against the Wildcats all-time. In addition, Stanford has won 12 consecutive matches against the U of A. The Wildcats last defeated Stanford on November 11, 2005. Stanford comes in as one of the best defensive teams in the league. The Cardinal leads the Pac-12 in digs at 16.40 per set. Stanford junior Carly Wopat leads the league in blocks with 1.56 per set.

Meanwhile, California will head to Tucson on Sunday after a meeting against Arizona State on Friday. The Wildcats lead the all-time series against the Bears, 34-20. Cal has been hampered by a handful of injuries early in the season.  

Following this weekend's matches, Arizona will hit the road for four straight matches beginning with a trip to Los Angeles next week to face USC and UCLA.

For continued coverage of Arizona Wildcat volleyball, visit ArizonaWildcats.com and be sure to follow the team on Twitter @ArizonaVBall.