Arizona volleyball sweeps ASU in Tempe

It was a banner night for the youthful Arizona Wildcats on Thursday in the unfriendly confines of Tempe.

The visiting ‘Cats improved to 7-3 after a convincing 26-24, 25-18, 25-22 effort over ASU, led in part by Kendra Dahlke, who had a team-high 12 kills, while teammate Jade Turner added a career-high 11 kills.

The Wildcats, who entered the match off a straight-sets loss to Illinois State at McKale on Saturday, dominated up front against the Sun Devils, with 43 kills on the night.

Tyler Spriggs provided a spark for longtime coach Dave Rubio as well, with a team-high .412 hitting percentage and eight blocks.

Julia Patterson had 35 assists, and Arizona only had one service error as a team.

ASU (10-3) had a 20-17 lead in the first set, but the Wildcats went on a 7-2 run before ASU tied it 24. Arizona rallied for the final two points.

Arizona led the second and third sets nearly wire to wire.

The Wildcats return to the hardwood Saturday against Washington State at 6 p.m., before hitting the road against the Bay Area schools next weekend.

Highlights:

Follow Christopher Boan on Twitter at @cgboan