TUCSON – TUCSON - Arizona split its first two matches at the Borderland Invitational in a pair of sweeps, falling to No. 16 Texas A&M before defeating Sacramento State. UA closes out the event with the host, New Mexico State, Saturday at 11 a.m. MST.
 
"This morning was disappointing," said head coach Dave Rubio of the early match vs. Texas A&M. "I didn't think we handled Texas A&M's pressure very well. We were uncharacteristically error-prone, but a lot of that had to do with Texas A&M. It was nice to get a win against Sacramento State. We'll need to play cleaner and sharper moving forward."
 
Match 1: #16 Texas A&M 3, Arizona 0 (25-16, 26-24, 25-20)
 
Arizona struggled with the Texas A&M block as the Aggies totaled 12 blocks, part of 24 attack errors for the Cats, and the Aggies swept Arizona in the early match of the day (25-16, 26-24, 25-20).
 
Penina Snuka had 21 assists in the match, giving her exactly 4,000 for her career. Snuka is the fifth Wildcat to reach the 4,000 assist plateau.
 
The Cats narrowly dropped the second set, allowing the Aggies to steal the second in deuce and then hit .567 in the third to run away with the match, despite a decent effort from Arizona.
 
Kendra Dahlke led a balanced attack for the Wildcats. Her 10 kills marked her sixth double-digit-kill effort of the season. Tyler Spriggs contributed nine kills on 14 errorless swings off the bench, good for a match-best .643 hitting percentage. Kalei Mau also added nine kills with Katarina Pilepic right behind at seven.
 
Penina Snuka and Julia Patterson split time at setter, as Patterson recorded 10-plus assists for the first time as a Wildcat. The freshman had 11 assists while Snuka posted 21 to go along with six digs.
 
Libero Laura Larson kept her dig-streak alive, posting 10-or-more for the 23rd consecutive match. She had 11 digs in addition to four assists and a service ace.
 
Texas A&M raced out to a 7-2 lead and fended off a couple of Arizona rallies to hold on to win the opening set 25-16. Texas A&M outblocked Arizona 7-1 and limited the Wildcats to .031 hitting. The Aggies scored the final six points of the set after Arizona closed to within 19-16.
 
The second set was much more competitive as Arizona and Texas A&M traded points nearly the entire set. Neither team was able to break away until the Aggies scored the final two points to take the set 26-24. The Cats lost the frame despite having twice the amount of kills as the Aggies (14-7).  
 
Arizona hit .321 in the final set, but it was not enough to match Texas A&M's high-powered offense, which hit .567. The Aggies cruised 25-20 to sweep the match.
 
Match 2: Arizona 3, Sacramento State 0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-12)
 
Kendra Dahlke posted a career-high 19 kills and Penina Snuka posted 36 assists and 20 digs as the Cats rolled over Sacramento State in three sets.
 
The Cats bounced back from their loss earlier in the day with a straight-set victory over the Hornets.
 
The Wildcats limited Sac State to .024 hitting, thanks to 10 blocks and 58 digs by UA. Snuka added a team-high four blocks, an ace and a kill to her aforementioned double-double.
 
Katarina Pilepic and Tyler Spriggs had eight kills apiece as UA supplemented for the absence of Kalei Mau on the pins.
 
After Sacramento State took an early lead in the first set, Arizona went on a 6-0 run to take control of the set on its way to a 25-18 opening-frame victory. Kendra Dahlke had seven kills in the set.
 
The Wildcats were able to overcome a poor offensive frame with good defense, holding Sacramento State to a negative hitting percentage as the Cats earned a 25-18 second set win to take a 20 lead in the match.
 
UA cruised in the finale, winning set 3 25-12.
 
UP NEXT: UA closes out the event with the host, New Mexico State, Saturday at 11 a.m. MST.
 
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