Arizona volleyball sets date for annual Red-Blue intrasquad game

It may seem like the college sports calendar just ended, but it won’t be long before the next one starts. Arizona volleyball will kick off its season with a reworked roster and a new coach with the Red-Blue game on Saturday, Aug. 19 at 12 p.m. MST.

The annual intrasquad exhibition generally features Arizona’s players along with a few of the male managers and members of the Arizona men’s club volleyball team. This season, the Wildcats will be introducing a large contingent of new players, both transfers and incoming freshmen, as well as making their debut under the leadership of new head coach Rita Stubbs.

It will be Arizona fans’ first chance to see last year’s No. 2 recruit Jordan Wilson, who transferred to UA from USC after her freshman season. It will also mark the first opportunity for Kalen Owes, the daughter of former Arizona men’s basketball All-Pac-10 forward Ray Owes and former Arizona volleyball All-Region setter Laura Owes (nee Bartsch), to appear in McKale Center as a Wildcat after also transferring from USC.

One player who was expected to be a big part of the team this season won’t be there. Oregon transfer Becca Morse announced that she would be medically retiring last month. Morse had a strong shot at being the starting libero this season after Kamaile Hiapo transferred to BYU for her final season of college volleyball. Morse was injured at Oregon last season and apparently has not been able to recover. She will continue her education at Arizona as she works to become a nurse.

The Wildcats welcome 11 new players in total. Two joined the team before the spring tournaments while the other nine will be new to McKale. They include four transfers and seven freshmen. The group joins nine returners, including last year’s starters Sofia Maldonado Diaz, Jaelyn Hodge, and Alayna Johnson.

In addition to the Red-Blue game, Arizona has also added the final “TBA” opponents to its schedule. The Wildcats will host Long Beach State, New Mexico State, and Alabama State for the Wildcat Classic. They play LBSU on Thursday, Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. MST. On Friday, Sept. 15, they face the Aggies from NMSU at 6 p.m. MST. Things wrap up with a match against Alabama State on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 12:30 p.m. MST. All matches will be played in McKale Center.