Oct. 23, 2012

Match Notes 

TUCSON, Ariz. - After earning a home victory against Oregon State on Sunday, the Arizona volleyball (12-9, 4-6 Pac-12) team hits the road to face No. 2 Stanford (18-2, 10-0 Pac-12) and California (10-10, 4-6 Pac-12).

THE LAST MEETING Stanford 3 Arizona 1 September 28, 2012 Tucson, Ariz. Wildcats Fall To No. 7 Stanford, 3-1 Three players finished with double-figure kills to lead No. 7 Stanford past Arizona, 3-1 (25-20, 22-25, 25-22, 25-18), Friday night inside the McKale Center. Recap | Photo Gallery

THE LAST MEETING California 3 Arizona 1 September 30, 2012 Tucson, Ariz. Cal Tops Arizona, 3-1 Correy Johnson finished with a match-high 15 kills to lead California (8-6, 2-2 Pac-12) to a 3-1 (25-22, 13-25, 20-25, 14-25) victory over Arizona (9-6, 1-3 Pac-12) on Sunday inside the McKale Center. Recap

Arizona went 1-1 last weekend against the Oregon schools. The Cats fell to No. 3 Oregon on Friday before defeating OSU on Sunday.

Sophomore Madi Kingdon (Phoenix, Ariz.) leads the Wildcats and ranks fifth in the Pac-12 in kills at 4.25 per set, while ranking eighth in the league in points at 4.59 per set. Junior libero Candace Nicholson (Long Beach, Calif.) leads the squad and ranks fifth in the conference in digs with 4.16 per set. Meanwhile, Chanel Brown (Tempe, Ariz.) ranks sixth in the Pac-12 for service aces with 0.31 aces per set and she ranks 10th in assists at 7.39 assists per set.

Following this weekend's matches, Arizona will return home to face UCLA and USC on Nov. 2 and Nov. 4.

Stanford (18-2, 10-0 Pac-12)

Date: Wednesday, Oct. 24

Match Time: 7 p.m.

Location: Palo Alto, Calif.

Arena: Maples Pavilion

Series: Stanford leads, 58-7

Last Time Out: Stanford defeated Arizona, 3-1 in Tucson back on September 29.

Series History vs. Stanford

The Cardinal has owned the all-time series against the Wildcats. Stanford holds a commanding 58-7 lead in the series. In addition, Stanford has defeated Arizona 13 straight times.   

Scouting Stanford

Stanford paces the Pac-12 with an unblemished conference mark after the first round of action. Carly Wopat led the three Cardinal players with 15 kills in the first meeting against the Wildcats. Wopat had no errors and hit an efficient .625 to go along with five blocks. Inky Ajanaku and Jordan Burgess added 10 kills apiece for Stanford, while Ajanaku finished with a match-high seven blocks. The Cardinal hit .255 on the night, but more importantly held the Wildcats to just .158 hitting. The Cardinal have been strong defensively as they lead the league in digs with 16.43 per set, while ranking second in opponent's hitting percentage at .165.

California (10-10, 4-6 Pac-12)

Date: Friday, Oct. 26

Match Time: 6 p.m.

Location: Berkeley, Calif.

Arena: Haas Pavilion

Series: Arizona leads, 34-21

Last Time Out: Cal defeated Arizona 3-1 in Tucson back on Sept.30.

Series History vs. Cal

The Wildcats lead the all-time series against the Golden Bears, 34-21. However, Cal has won nine of the last 11 meetings against the Wildcats.

Scouting the Bears

Correy Johnson finished with a match-high 15 kills to lead California to a 3-1 (25-22, 13-25, 20-25, 14-25) victory over Arizona earlier this season. Johnson had just one error on 24 swings for a .583 hitting percentage and finished with a match-high 16.5 points. Meanwhile, Cal out-hit Arizona .364 to .182 and out-blocked the Wildcats, 11-5.

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