TUCSON, Ariz. -- Arizona turned in a dominating performance in a 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-11) sweep of American on Saturday morning, finishing the weekend with a perfect 3-0 record to take home the Arizona Desert Classic title.
UA wrapped up nconference play with an 8-3 record. American dropped to 6-5 on the season. The Wildcats outhit the Eagles .337 to .033 in the match and outblocked American 9.5 to 2.
Junior Candace Nicholson continued her strong defensive play with a match-high 14 digs. Nicholson had 39 digs on the weekend and was named Arizona Desert Classic Tournament MVP. Meanwhile, Rachel Rhoades and Olivia Magill were strong at the net all weekend and were both named to the all-tournament team. Rhoades had seven kills and a match-high seven blocks in the victory over American, while Magill had eight kills on just nine swings with two blocks.
Sophomore Madi Kingdon recorded a match-high 13 kills to go along with five digs, and Halli Amaro had seven kills and four blocks in the winning effort. Lauren Fuller and Chanel Brown teamed up to dish out a combined 39 assists.
The Wildcats led from start to finish in the opening set after jumping out to a quick 6-2 advantage. The Cats hit .316 in the set while limiting American to a -.034 attack efficiency. Meanwhile, Arizona outblocked American 4-0 in the frame en route to the 25-16 victory.
Arizona got off to a quick start once again in the second set. The Cats never trailed, hitting .300 in the set while holding America to .152 hitting. Kingdon had a team-high five kills in the set.
The Wildcats jumped out to a 12-1 advantage to open the third set, and that was all they needed. The Cats kept their foot on the pedal and routed the Eagles 25-11 to clinch the match. Arizona hit an impressive .407 in the frame while holding American to negative hitting for the second time in the match.
Sara Rishell led American with five kills.
