TUCSON, Ariz. – Ronni Lewis recorded a career-high 20 digs and Arizona used an all-around team effort to upset No. 5 UCLA 3-0 (25-22, 25-16. 26-24) Friday night at McKale Center.
Lewis, who made her first start of the season at libero in place of a sick Candace Nicholson, was outstanding from the outset. She easily bested her previous career high of 13 digs, which she recorded last season at Utah.
It was the first win over a top-10 opponent for the Wildcats (13-11, 5-8 Pac-12) defeated a top-10 opponent since defeating the Bruins (17-5, 9-4 Pac-12) last season when they were ranked second in the country. Arizona has now defeated UCLA in three of the last four meetings, with all three of those wins coming with the Bruins ranked in the top five.
The Cats hit an efficient .288 on the night, their highest hitting percentage since a .337 effort against American back on Sept. 15. Meanwhile, Arizona held UCLA to just .143 hitting on the night. The Wildcats outblocked the Bruins 7-3 while also finishing with a 47-36 advantage in digs.
Madi Kingdon and Olivia Magill led the Wildcats with 11 and 10 kills, respectively. It was the first double-figure kill effort in Magill’s young career. Magill hit .389, while also recording a match-high five blocks. Rachel Rhoades and Taylor Arizobal (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) had seven kills each, while Halli Amaro added six kills and three blocks. Rhoades hit a career-high .636 on the night. Meanwhile, setters Lauren Fuller and Chanel Brown quarterbacked the offense nicely. Fuller dished out 20 assists with eight digs and an ace, while Brown had 17 assists, three digs and an ace.
Arizona jumped out to a strong start in the opening set by taking a 10-5 lead. UCLA chipped away at the lead and pulled to within one at 11-10 after a 6-1 run. With Arizona still clinging to a one point lead at 15-14, the Cats extended the lead by winning the next two points. However, the Bruins went on a 3-0 run to tie the score at 17-17. The Wildcats regained the lead at 19-17 after winning the next two points. The Bruins were never able to tie the score as Arizona went on to take the set, 25-22.
The Wildcats kept their strong play going early in the second set as they turned a 4-4 tie into a 7-4 advantage thanks to a 3-0 run. Arizona never let UCLA cut into the lead as the Wildcats cruised to a 25-16 victory. Arizona hit an extremely efficient .440 in the set, while holding the Bruins to just a .100 attack efficiency.
Arizona held the lead for much of the third set and a kill by Arizobal put the Cats in front 19-15 late in the frame. Later, with the Cats in front 20-17, UCLA went on a 4-0 run to pull in front 21-20. After some back and forth play, UCLA earned set point at 24-23 thanks to a kill by Rachael Kidder. Then, Rhoades came up with a huge block for the Cats to tie the score 24-24. After a UCLA attack error gave Arizona set point, Rhoades sealed the victory for the Cats with a kill from the middle.
Tabi Love led the Bruins with 11 kills while Kidder added 10. Megan Moenoa dished out a match-high 30 assists, and Bojana Todorovic led the UCLA defense with nine digs.
