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Heading into their final three weeks of play and knowing that an NCAA Tournament berth was an impossibility this year, head coach Rita Stubbs and her players started looking at the end of the 2023 season differently. It was no longer just about this year. It became a sort of preseason for 2024.
“I think that if this entire group came back, we would have a totally different look going into the season,” Stubbs said. “Like, if we were to start now, which has been our goal is to play this last four weeks, was to treat it like preseason. To see what we’re capable of doing so that you can walk away feeling good, and that was one of the things that we said, ‘We’re 2-and-0, baby!’”
That refers to the success the Wildcats had on the court last weekend. Arizona came home and swept Utah and Colorado in McKale Center. They were the Wildcats’ first back-to-back wins in Pac-12 play this season. The team had not won back-to-back matches since facing New Mexico State and Alabama State in the last two games of the pre-conference season. They had only won back-to-back matches twice against any opponents prior to last weekend.
Now, they’re trying to stretch that to 3-0 with Oregon State headed to town on Friday evening. If they can accomplish that, it would be the first time all year that they won three in a row.
Part of that comes down to the tough slate Arizona had. The Wildcats have played 12 matches against teams in the top 50 of the RPI. In the Pac-12, only Arizona, Utah, and Oregon State are outside the top 100.
Much of it has simply been about not doing the little things and sometimes not believing they were even able to do the little things. A lack of belief has been over their heads, but it seems to be lifting.
“Season didn’t go as planned in terms of wins and losses,” said senior libero Joy Galles. “And I think we got our groove. We really did. We moved past some things this past weekend. I think that there’s times where we’ll make an error and then we’ll continue to make errors and kind of get ourselves in a hole and beat ourselves. And I think that this time we were just way more composed and we really wanted it. There was a fight and we competed. Obviously, it wasn’t all pretty and clean, but I think that us pushing past that was something we hadn’t done before. And so I think that if we can continue on the trend and keep doing that in practice for the last 10 days that we really need to, I think that we’re gonna win. And that’s what we want to do.”
Oregon State (10-16, 5-11) @ Arizona Wildcats (8-19, 3-13)
When: Friday, Nov. 17 at 5 p.m. MST
Where: McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz.
Streaming: Arizona Live Stream
Stats: Arizona Live Stats
RPI/Rankings: Neither team is ranked in the AVCA poll. The Beavers are No. 150 in RPI while the Wildcats are No. 129.
Last time: Arizona lost a five-set match marred by 12 official challenges. It was a match where Arizona’s blocking seemed to have turned a corner. The Wildcats came into the match last in the Pac-12 in blocking but had 16 total blocks in the five-set loss. In four of the eight matches since, they have at least eight total blocks as a team. Arizona is trying to avoid getting swept by the Beavs this season.
Oregon (22-5, 12-4) @ Arizona Wildcats (8-19, 3-13)
When: Sunday, Nov. 19 at 12 p.m. MST
Where: McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz.
Streaming: Arizona Live Stream
Stats: Arizona Live Stats
RPI/Rankings: Oregon is ranked No. 6 in the AVCA poll and No. 8 in the RPI. Arizona is No. 129 in RPI.
Last time: Arizona started strong against the Ducks in Eugene, leading almost the entire first set. After that, the Wildcats didn’t put up much of a fight.
How to follow along
Follow us on X (Twitter) @AZDesertSwarm for all things Arizona Wildcats. For live posts of volleyball matches and news throughout the week, follow our deputy editor @KimDoss71.
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