<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3TbGcp_0vk0ADNC00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3TbGcp_0vk0ADNC00" width="1210" height="806" ></figure>Last season, Arizona volleyball had a lot of near-misses. They were close in several of their losses, but couldn’t get over the hump. It was a bit of deja vu as No. 19 Baylor handed the Wildcats their first loss of the season in a four-setter (25-18, 25-23, 16-25, 25-17).“They didn’t do anything that the scouting report didn’t tell us they were going to do,” Arizona head coach Rita Stubbs said. “I mean, maybe they set the middle a little bit more, because every time we served an easy ball, they were able to run the middle. Or in transition, they were able to run the middle. So, we got to do a better job.”Perhaps it could be blamed on the improved competition, but Stubbs felt Arizona was off in practice, especially freshman outside hitter Carlie Cisneros.”We struggled when we came to practice in the gym serving balls,” Stubbs said. “Carlie was struggling up until the match. I don’t know what her passing numbers were, I know she got aced at least once, but she was really off in terms of passing.” The struggles carried over into the match. Stubbs pointed out that junior outside hitter Jordan Wilson had difficulty in a number of areas. She had five aces, 11 digs, and two total blocks, but she countered that with six hitting errors, five serving errors, three receiving errors, and one blocking error. She hit -.091.“If she produces better in any one of those areas, we become that much better,” Stubbs said. “But that’s by nature, the ups and downs that you’ll go through when you’re learning to play that position. It’s just a lot.”Senior middle blocker Kiari Robey also had some difficulties. She had just four kills against five hitting errors for a hitting percentage of .125. She added a receiving error and two blocking errors.“Kiara struggled stopping them, and we knew that that was going to happen against the bigger bodies,” Stubbs said. “I was like, let it go. But they were all over her so we weren’t able to set her the way that she’s usually set.”Even when Arizona got Baylor out of system, the Bears were often able to score.“We weren’t doing our job defensively,” Stubbs said.The Wildcats did contain both of Baylor’s outside hitters. Elise McGhee, who averages 3.26 kills per set on .230 hitting, was held to 11 kills on .162 hitting. Kendal Murphy had just eight kills on .091 hitting. “We did a good job of slowing them down, not making them an issue, but we lost it in the middle and the right side,” Stubbs said.Allie Sczech, who averages 2.29 k/s on .218 hitting, hit .429 on her way to 13 kills. Alicia Andrew was even better, getting 14 kills and hitting .591. Manuela Bibinbe had 10 kills and hit .304.No. 19 Baylor Bears (9-3) defeated Arizona Wildcats (11-1)When: Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 5 p.m. MSTWhere: Ferrell Center in Waco, Tex.Result: 3-1 (25-18, 25-23, 16-25, 25-17)Arizona Wildcats (11-1) @ No. 22 TCU Horned Frogs (8-3)When: Friday, Sept. 27 at 4:30 p.m. MSTWhere: Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Tex.Streaming: ESPN+Stats: Live StatsThe Wildcats were able to stay in the match because of the outings by Jaelyn Hodge and Journey Tucker.Hodge was spectacular. The fifth-year opposite had a season-high 22 kills on .354 hitting. She added 10 digs for a double-double. She also had one ace and one total block for 23.5 points. The kills and points both led the match.Tucker missed both matches last week, but she was back with a vengeance on Wednesday. The sophomore middle blocker came in for senior starter Alayna Johnson. She had six total blocks to lead the match and help Arizona rack up 11 total blocks. She added four kills on six swings without an error for a .667 hitting percentage.“We got to do a better job,” Stubbs said. “We got to better strategically put the ball so we limit their middles from scoring. And once we put Journey in, they slowed down a lot. And so that’s what I meant about the bigger the hitter, then the better Journey will be. Low kids, the low swings that are low to the net, that’s the ball she struggles on. So being able to take AJ out and put Journey in there, that was a good thing.”Things started slowly for Arizona. Baylor marched out to a 12-5 lead and never trailed in the first set. The Bears’ biggest lead was eight points beginning at 18-10. When they took a 22-14 edge, Arizona started chipping away with a 4-1 run, but it was too little too late.The late run seemed to jump-start things for the Wildcats. They scored the first point of the second set and keep it close throughout. Arizona either led by one point or was tied with BU for most of the second. It just didn’t last.The Wildcats took a 22-21 lead late in set two, but the Bears closed it out on a 4-1 run to take a 2-0 lead in the match.“They’re a good team, but I didn’t think it was so far out of our reach,” Stubbs said. “We shot ourselves in the foot several times. That second set could have been ours.”The close loss really kicked the Wildcats’ game into gear. They dominated the second half of the third set.With the two teams tied at 11 in what could have been the final set, Arizona went on a 9-0 run with Wilson serving. Tucker had two blocks and a kill during the run and Wilson had two aces. When Baylor finally got the side out on Wilson’s serving error, the Wildcats led 20-12.Arizona’s dominant 25-16 win in set three didn’t carry over into set four. The Bears took their first lead at 3-2 and never trailed again as they closed out the match.Arizona will go to No. 22 TCU on Friday with an 11-1 record. The Horned Frogs lost to No. 14 ASU in straight sets on Wednesday.Lead photo courtesy of Arizona Athletics</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Arizona volleyball takes first loss of season despite stellar performance by Jaelyn Hodge

Last season, Arizona volleyball had a lot of near-misses. They were close in several of their losses, but couldn’t get over the hump. It was a bit of deja vu as No. 19 Baylor handed the Wildcats their first loss of the season in a four-setter (25-18, 25-23, 16-25, 25-17).