In 2018, the Arizona volleyball team exceeded expectations and battled adversity to post one of the most memorable seasons in school history. The Wildcats posted their 19th 20-win season in program history and qualified for their 29th NCAA Tournament in school history.
Following an 11-18 season in 2017, the Wildcats were picked ninth in the preseason Pac-12 coaches' poll. The Cats defied their preseason critics by posting their biggest single-season win increase in the school's Division I history (11), posting a 22-11 overall record and an 11-9 record in Pac-12 play, good for a fifth place finish in the league.Â
The Wildcats were led by All-America (honorable mention) seasons from senior outside hitter
Kendra Dahlke, who led the Pac-12 in kills/set (4.77), and junior middle blockerÂ
Devyn Cross, who finished fourth in the league in hitting percentage (.361). Junior setter
Julia Patterson was named all-Pac-12 honorable mention after finishing fourth in the league, averaging 10.74 assists/set.
Arizona's journey to the NCAA Tournament was an exciting one, featuring three takedowns of ranked teams, plenty of exciting moments and a handful of important milestones. We take a look back at the 2018 season through our top 10 social media posts of the year.
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1. On Sept. 16, Arizona and New Mexico State engaged in a minute-long rally that featured incredible defense and effort by both teams. The video, originally tweeted by @ArizonaVBall and reposted by @NCAAVolleyball, received over 100,000 views and was Arizona's most interacted with media of the season, both on Twitter and Instagram.
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2. On Sept. 28, the Wildcats defeated 12th-ranked Oregon in Eugene in a five-set thriller, the first half of a road sweep at Oregon and Oregon State. The victory marked Arizona's highest-ranked upset of the year and the post received 425 likes, the most of the season.
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3. There's nothing quite like hearing your name announced during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show. At this moment, Arizona knew it was going dancing.
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4. On Oct. 26, Penina Snuka was inducted into the McKale Center Ring of Honor, becoming just the seventh Wildcat volleyball player to have her name hang from the McKale Center rafters. Her Throwback Thursday video was Arizona's second-most liked post on Instagram this year.
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5. On Nov. 2, Arizona came back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat No. 18 Washington State on the road, earning one of Arizona's most improbable victories of the season. Arizona entered the match without two starters due to injury and then lost two more during the course of the match, but still outlasted the Cougars in five sets in Pullman.
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6. Our third most liked post on Instagram was
Victoria Svorinic's senior video. Svorinic concluded her Wildcat career this season and will graduate this spring and hopes to go to law school.
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7. On Nov. 18, the Wildcats swept 25th-ranked UCLA, extending a streak of now eight straight seasons that Arizona has defeated either UCLA or USC while the Bruins or Trojans were ranked.
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8. During Arizona's victory over UCLA,
Kendra Dahlke had 20 of her 487 kills on the season, including this one that followed some incredible plays by the Wildcat defense.
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9. On Nov. 24, Arizona swept Arizona State in the regular season finale in Tempe, sweeping the season series with the Sun Devils and marking four straight wins over its rival from the north.
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10. In UA's first win over Arizona State in its Pac-12 opener in McKale, the Cats ended their straight-set victory with a block from
Devyn Cross and
Katie Smoot.
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FINAL NOTES
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- Following an 11-win season in 2017 and a ninth-place preseason ranking in the Pac-12, the 2018 Arizona volleyball team finished 22-11 and 11-9 in Pac-12 play, good for a fifth-place finish in the conference. The Wildcats returned to the NCAA Tournament (their 29th appearance overall and fifth time in the last six years) and finished the season ranked in the AVCA Top 25 (#25).
- Arizona's 22 total victories and 11 conference wins both mark UA's second-highest totals since 2005 (Arizona had 24 wins and 12 Pac-12 wins in 2014). This comes after an 11-18 (5-15 Pac-12) season in 2017. Arizona's 11-victory improvement over last season is its largest increase in the school's Division I history.Â
- The Wildcats were led by senior outside hitter Kendra Dahlke, the Pac-12 leader in kills (4.77/set), who fought through injuries all season to post one of the best seasons by a Wildcat outside hitter in school history. She was an AVCA All-America Honorable Mention as well as first team all-conference and all-region.
- Dahlke became the third Wildcat in school history to lead the Pac-12 in kills (4.77/set), joining Kim Glass (2005) and Barb Bell (1995).
- Devyn Cross was also named All-America honorable mention, becoming Arizona's first middle blocker to receive All-America honors since Melissa McLinden in 1985.
- Additionally, Cross was named all-Pac-12 honorable mention as well as all-Pacific South Region honorable mention. She became the fifth Wildcat in school history to post a season with 2.00 kills/set (2.06), 1.00 block/set (1.03) while hitting better than .350 (.361) and first since Jolene Killough in 2004. She was one of two players in the conference toa 2K/1B/.350hit% season.
- Julia Patterson, who led the Pac-12 with 20 double-doubles, was named all-Pac-12 honorable mention. Patterson finished fourth in the conference, averaging 10.74 assists/set.
- Arizona battled injuries all season, with six starters missing time during the Pac-12 season. Elizabeth Shelton missed all 20 matches (concussion), Kendra Dahlke missed five matches (concussion/sprained foot), Devyn Cross missed three matches (concussion), Paige Whipple missed two matches (concussion), Katie Smoot missed two matches (abdomen injury) and Makenna Martin missed one match (groin injury).Â
- The Wildcats finished the season ranked 25th in the AVCA Top 25. UA has been ranked 325 weeks in the poll's history, the 10th most appearances in the country.
- UA is one of only two teams (Tennessee) in the final 2018 AVCA Top 25 to have finished 2017 with an under .500 record; every other team currently ranked won at least 18 matches in 2017 (UA went 11-18, UT went 12-15).
- In 2018, head coach Dave Rubio became the second coach in Pac-10/12 history to surpass 500 career wins as a league coach, winning No. 500 vs. New Mexico State (Sept. 14). He finished the season with 512 victories in his Arizona career.
- Kendra Dahlke had at least 15 kills in 20 of the 27 matches she has played in this season, including the first 11 matches, the longest 15-plus-kill streak in school history. Dahlke's 487 kills in 2018 included No. 1,000 in her career; she became the 18th player in school history reach the 1,000-kill milestone in week 2 vs. Lipscomb. She finished her Wildcat career top 10 in career kills (7th - 1,398). The senior enters this weekend 73 kills shy of sixth place (Lisa Rutledge - 1,471). She is trying to become the fourth Wildcat to average over 4.80 kills per set, and the second to do it since sets were played to 25 (Madi Kingdon, 2014 - 5.33).
- Arizona's starting middle blockers, Devyn Cross (.389) and Shardonee Hayes (.416) hit a combined .401 in Pac-12 matches.
- Arizona's offense ranked fourth in the Pac-12 in kills (13.86/set), fifth in assists (12.67/set) and sixth in hitting percentage (.237) after finishing 11th (12.50 kills/set), 11th (11.56 assists/set) and 12th (.204 hitting percentage), respectively, in the league in 2017.
- In 2018, Julia Patterson became the ninth player in Arizona history to surpass 2,000 career assists (vs. Oregon, 10/28). She will enter her senior season ninth in school history with 2,388 career assists.Â
- Despite having the conference leader in kills and attempts per set (Kendra Dahlke), Patterson spreads the sets around. Seven different Wildcats averaged 1.15 kills/set or more (Kendra Dahlke - 4.77, Paige Whipple - 3.13, Katie Smoot - 2.24, Elizabeth Shelton - 2.14, Devyn Cross - 2.06, Candice Denny - 1.83, Shardonee Hayes - 1.17), which is the most in the Pac-12 (min. 19 sets played).
2018 SEASON RECAP
- Arizona won its first eight matches of 2018, and would end the nonconference season 11-1 with three undefeated tournament championships (Hornet Invitational, Cactus Classic, Wildcat Classic).
- A Pac-12-opening split vs. ASU (W, 3-0) and eventual national champion Stanford (L, 1-3) earned the Wildcats a spot in the AVCA Top 25. UA debuted at No. 24 in week 5 and would remained ranked for the remainder of the season.
- The Cats followed with their biggest win of the season, a five-set win at No. 12 Oregon in a rare road sweep in the Pacific Northwest to improve to 14-2 (3-1 Pac-12).
- Injuries struck and the Wildcats dropped four straight matches to ranked opponents before turning it the season around with a three-match winning streak vs. Colorado (3-0), Utah (3-1) and Oregon State (3-0) before No. 16 Oregon ended the Wildcats' winning streak with a four-set win in McKale.
- Arizona then returned to the road to face No. 18 Washington State, which led the Wildcats 2-0 in Pullman before the Wildcats stormed back to take down the Cougars in five sets, part of a split in the Apple State, which brought Arizona to 18-8 (7-7 Pac-12) and earned Arizona its highest ranking of the year (No. 20).
- Then, in three straight matches, the Wildcats fell down 0-2 only to force a fifth set in all three. UA fell to Utah and No. 14 USC in five sets, but defeated Colorado in Boulder in a five-set thriller.
- The Cats won their final three matches of the regular season, winning their 20th match in a sweep of No. 25 UCLA before defeating California on senior day and sweeping Arizona State to close out the regular season.Â
- Arizona's 22-10 regular season and 11-9, fifth-place finish in the conference earned UA an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament. Arizona fell to 24th-ranked Missouri in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Lincoln, Nebraska.
RANKINGS
- Arizona finished the season ranked No. 25 in the final AVCA Top 25.
- The Wildcats have been ranked 325 total weeks in the AVCA Top 25, dating back to 1982, the 10th-most among all schools in Division I.
- UA finished the season 3-8 vs. ranked opponents.
- The Wildcats ended the season ranked No. 39 in the NCAA RPI.
- Six teams from the Pac-12 were ranked in the final AVCA Top 25.
MR. 500
- At this season's Wildcat Classic, Arizona head coach Dave Rubio won his 500th match at Arizona, becoming the second coach in Pac-10/12 history to reach 500 career victories as a coach in the league, joining legendary UCLA coach Andy Banachowski (619 wins, 1986-2009) as the only ones to reach the milestone.
- Rubio also joined a legendary group of Arizona coaches to win 500 games as a Wildcat: Mike Candrea (softball; 1986-present), Jerry Kindall (baseball; 1973-1996), Frank Sancet (baseball; 1950-1972), Lute Olson (men's basketball, 1983-2007) and Fred Enke (men's basketball; 1925-1961).
- Including his 122 victories at Division II Cal State Bakersfield, where he began his career from 1987-1991, Rubio has won 634 matches. Those 634 victories rank 16th among all active Division I coaches. Â Â
TOP-10 CATS
- Kendra Dahkle led the Pac-12 in kills (4.77/set), was second in points (5.12/set) and was fifth in double-doubles (16). Dahlke is the third Wildcat and first since Kim Glass in 2005 to lead the Pac-12 in kills.
- Julia Patterson, who led the Pac-12 in double-doubles (20), was fourth in the conference, averaging 10.74 assists/set. In just under two seasons as UA's starting setter, Patterson has already cracked the Arizona career top 10 in assists (9th - 2,388). On Oct. 28 (vs. Oregon), she became the ninth player in school history to pass 2,000 career assists.Â
- Devyn Cross finished fourth in the Pac-12 in hitting percentage (.361) overall and hit .389 in conference matches, second in the league.Â
- Makenna Martin ranks 10th in the Pac-12, averaging 3.51 digs/set. She led UA in digs in 2017 (2.87/set).
WILD KITTENS
- Arizona was one of the youngest teams in the country in 2017, when UA started three freshmen and two sophomores. A year later, the Wildcats gained experience, but in the big picture, remained one of the youngest teams in the country in 2018.
- UA had 13 underclassmen (7 freshmen, 6 sophomores). This, along with UCLA, was the most in the Pac-12.
RUN IT BACK
- Arizona returns all six starters and its libero, seven of 11 returning letterwinners, from last season. The Wildcats are the only team in the Pac-12 to return all six starters from last year.
- The Wildcats return 78% of their kills (1,057-of-1,363), 93% of their assists (1,177-of-1,260), 73% of their digs (1,102-of-1,502) and 76% of their blocks from last season.
- Arizona's freshman class in 2017 was one of its best in school history. Four freshmen (Paige Whipple - 213; Elizabeth Shelton - 187; Candice Denny - 106; Katie Smoot - 71) had more than 60 kills last year for the first time in school history. Candice Denny had the third best hitting percentage in UA freshman history (.302) and Paige Whipple had the ninth most digs (213) by a freshman in school history to go along with her 213 kills.
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