Arizona volleyball takes down Colorado

Published Nov. 16, 2012 10:40 p.m. ET

foxsports

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Three players recorded double-figure kills, including freshman Olivia Magill finishing with a career-high 14, as Arizona earned a 3-1 victory over Colorado on Friday night at the McKale Center.

Magill recorded her 14 kills on .524 hitting to go along with a team-high five blocks. Meanwhile, teammate Taylor Arizobal recorded a double-double with 16 kills and 11 digs, and Madi Kingdon was the third member of the Wildcats (15-13, 7-10 Pac-12) with double-figure kills, as she added 10 and nine digs.

Ronni Lewis tied her career-high with 21 digs to lead the Arizona defense, and setters Lauren Fuller and Chanel Brown dished out a combined 57 assists. Fuller recorded 32 assists and eight digs, while Brown had 25 assists, two service aces and two digs.

Arizona outhit Colorado, .242 to .216 on the night. The Wildcats held a 6-1 advantage in service aces and a 9-7 edge in blocks. Arizona had 64 kills compared to just 52 for Colorado (14-15, 4-13 Pac-12).

The Wildcats jumped out to an 18-13 lead in the opening set. After Colorado won the next three points to pull within three, Arizona was forced to burn a timeout. The Wildcats maintained their advantage after the timeout and later earned set point at 24-20. Following another 3-0 run by Colorado, the Wildcats clinched the set thanks to a kill by Magill. The Buffaloes out-hit the Wildcats in the set, .231 to .211, but Arizona had a 17-9 kill advantage.

Arizona opened the second set with a 9-6 advantage, but Colorado quickly answered by winning four of the next five points to tie the score, 10-10. The Wildcats answered right back with a 3-0 run of their own to regain a three point advantage. It looked like Arizona would cruise to the victory; however, Colorado went on a run at the end of the set much like the opening frame. The Buffaloes cut the lead to 24-23, but the Wildcats clinched the set on another kill from Magill.

For the third straight set, Arizona jumped out to an early lead as the Cats went in front 6-2. Once again the Buffaloes battled back to tie the score at 17-17. The Wildcats regained the lead and after the two teams battled back and forth for the rest of the way, Colorado tied the score at 24. After an Arizona point made the score 25-24, Colorado won the next three to clinch the set, 27-25.

Arizona got out to a fast start once again as the Cats took a quick 15-9 lead in the fourth set. This time the Wildcats maintained the lead throughout the set as they went on to clinch the set, 25-18. The fourth set was the strongest for Arizona as it hit .343, while holding Colorado to just .158.

Colorado was led by Alexis Austin with 18 kills on .325 hitting, while Kelsey English adding 12 kills on .409 hitting. Nicole Edelman dished out a match-high 46 assists.

The Wildcats close out the home portion of their schedule on Saturday against Utah at 6 p.m.