Only four Arizona Wildcat freshmen had reached 1,000 assists in their rookie season before Friday afternoon. Make that five now as Avery Scoggins had 53 assists against Texas Tech to reach 1,029 for the season and her career. It was fitting that it came in a win that could put Arizona in the postseason for the first time since 2018.
freshman sensation ✨
during today’s match, @averyscoggins5 became the fifth freshman in program history to reach 1,000 assists! pic.twitter.com/S4SlKbHQJ9
— Arizona Volleyball (@ArizonaVBall) November 29, 2024
“She’s just a great competitor,” said Arizona head coach Rita Stubbs. “Her role is to get out there and put the ball in the area for the attackers to swing, and they’re confident that she can do it, and so they’re always ready. You can never not be ready when she sets it, because you don’t know where it’s going. You like to guess, but because she understands and really has a feel for the game, it allows her to be invested in it even more because she has the bodies that go up there and swing.”
Arizona defeated Texas Tech 3-1 (23-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-22) on Friday afternoon.
“We didn’t panic, we didn’t freak out,” Stubbs said. “We stayed composed. And when we weren’t composed, we were able to say it, and everyone understood it and received it. So our bench was really good today in terms of giving feedback and staying involved and energetic throughout the match, which is really helpful.”
The win gave the Wildcats a 20-9 record for the regular season, their first 20-win season since 2018. They had their first top 10 win in a season not affected by the pandemic since 2016. They also had a top 20 win
They finished 9-9 in their first season in the Big 12. They will finish 7th in the league standings, either outright or tied with Kansas State, after being picked to finish 12th in the preseason poll. The last time they had a .500-or-better record in conference play also came in 2018.
It was a match Arizona needed. They sat at No. 44 in the official RPI coming into the week. The unofficial RPI had the Wildcats dropping to No. 45 after defeating UCF on Wednesday. The Knights’ RPI hurt UA despite the victory. A loss to TTU might not have ended Arizona’s chances at the tournament, but it certainly would not have helped.
The selection committee took five at-large teams with RPIs of 39 or worse last season: No. 39 Texas State, No. 40 Minnesota, No. 45 Miami (FL), No. 47 Georgia, and No. 49 Hawai’i. If Arizona can stay closer to 40 than to 50, it chances have to be good.
“My pitch to the committee?” Stubbs said. “How we finished and the level of play that we’re playing now. The adversity with the travel that we endured, because…to go 7-0 on the back end with the extra travel, the drive, the Thanksgiving flight yesterday, competing today, against teams that are in a position where all they’re trying to do is upset people. I mean, I’m excited.I would want someone like us in. I would think many teams wouldn’t want to play us, either.”
It wasn’t a very well-rounded match for either team’s offense for most of the day. Arizona had just five players record a kill and Jordan Wilson carried the team for the bulk of the points.
Arizona’s other two pins got going later in the match with all three ending with double-doubles, but Wilson was the star of the show. She finished with 28 kills on .451 hitting. Her double-double included 10 digs. She also had one ace and four total blocks. She led the match with 30 points.
“Her attack lines were good she modified where she was supposed to,” Stubbs said. “She didn’t serve well, necessarily, but the fact that she was able to bounce back.”
It extended the run of great play for Wilson. During the seven-match winning streak, she has averaged 4.88 kills per set on .322 hitting. She has double-digit kills in six of those matches and scored nine kills in the other one.
Freshman outside hitter Carlie Cisneros had a steady game across the board. Despite being a regular target of the Texas Tech serve, she committed just one receiving error and was able to break through offensively.
Cisneros’ double-double consisted of 11 kills and 13 digs. She hit .217. She also threw in three aces and two total blocks to give her 15.0 points.
“She knows that she can impact the game so many different ways, and that’s because of the level of player that she is and what she brings to the table,” Stubbs said. “So she always thinks, ‘Okay, let me see if this is the area where I can impact it. Let me see if this is the area,’ because this is her second double-double in a row, which is huge. And she had two blocks.”
The blocks are an area of improvement for Cisneros. She has averaged 0.52 blocks per set during Arizona’s winning streak. That’s a dramatic increase over the 0.33 b/s she averages for the entire season.
“For her, it’s all about being in the right spot,” Stubbs said. “She gets good arm over the net, which is really nice.”
Fifth-year opposite Jaelyn Hodge had 13 kills and 17 digs. The digs trailed only libero Haven Wray for the match high. Hodge added one assist and one total block. She had 13.5 points.
Until halfway through the fourth set, the only other Wildcat with a kill was Journey Tucker. The sophomore middle blocker ended her day with six kills on 12 swings without an error. The .500 hitting percentage led the match. She tied Alayna Johnson and TTU’s Aliyah McDonald for a match-high 3.0 total blocks. One of Tucker’s blocks was solo.
Johnson was the fifth Wildcat to record a kill, but she only had one on seven swings. Her two errors gave her a -.143 hitting percentage.
The Red Raiders struggled on offense. Arizona held them to a .186 hitting percentage to improve to 16-0 when holding the opponent below .200.
While Texas Tech had six players with at least one kill, only two reached double digits. Brynn Williams (23 kills, 12 digs) and Mia Wesley (10 kills, 17 digs) had double-doubles. Only Emily Merrick (9 kills) hit over .225.
The Wildcats did not get to have Thanksgiving because they were traveling that day. On Sunday, they will gather together for a holiday meal. Stubbs’ husband Melvin, who is a caterer, will provide the main dishes and the players will bring the sides. They will watch the selection show and hope to hear their name called for the first time since 2018.
Lead photo courtesy of Arizona Athletics