Ana Heath is x-factor in Arizona volleyball’s sweep of West Virginia

Arizona volleyball was looking to get back in the win column against West Virginia to protect its status on the NCAA Tournament bubble. Both teams set out to end a three game losing streak, but it was the Wildcats who finally broke it with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-12) victory.

Head coach Rita Stubbs acknowledged that mistakes were made tonight, but that those mistakes do not take away from the victory.

“I thought we made some errors that we probably shouldn’t be making, but I loved the fact that we stayed calm and aggressive,” said Stubbs. “We never looked like we were panicking about anything.”

The Mountaineers got out to a three point lead before Carlie Cisneros got Arizona on the board. She was followed by back-to-back blocks by Jordan Wilson, who then got her first kill of the night to give the Wildcats their first lead of the first set.

Cisneros got an ace to add onto a 6-0 run. Add in a couple mistakes by West Virginia and UA started to take control of the first set.

At the first media timeout, the Wildcats had a six-point lead, which turned into seven after another Cisneros ace. Wilson turned into the closer for Arizona in the first set as she finished with six kills to win 25-16.

Renee Jones, Adrianna Bridges, and Cisneros all finished with two kills each in the first set. Avery Scoggins had nine assists.

Jones started off the second set with a big block, and was promptly followed by another Wilson kill. However, with some strong attacking and some Arizona mistakes, West Virginia started to take control of the second set.

“Sometimes you get complacent, and you got to be able to create your own game and energy,” said Stubbs.

Safe to say her team created its own energy with the help of senior opposite Ana Heath, who came in with her team trailing 13-9 in the second set. The Wildcats responded with a four-point run to tie the game back up. Heath’s second kill of the night gave Arizona the lead going into the media timeout.

A 9-2 scoring run for the Wildcats helped give them control of the second set, but the Mountaineers fought back. West Virginia’s 3-0 run tied the second set yet again.

The combination of a Scoggins ace, and a Heath block closed out the second set for Arizona, winning 25-22 to take a two set lead.

There was a different energy, or maybe even just a burst of energy once Heath came in and started finding her spots.

“Their libero rotates up right behind left back, and then the five-six seam is wide open, so kind of just placing the ball there and then making quick changes,” said Heath. “If they changed their defense, I just had to be aware where they’re standing so it could be easy points.”

Heath continued her strong performance by scoring the first point of the third set, getting her up to five kills. Wilson then got into double figures with her tenth kill of the night.

Journey Tucker helped the Wildcats go on a 4-0 run with a pair of kills and a huge block. More mistakes by West Virginia only helped the Arizona run continue. UA took a commanding 15-6 lead into the media timeout.

The true x-factor in Heath helped to get the Arizona lead to double figures with her sixth and seventh kills of the night.

“Ana has been practicing well, she knows the attack line and she’s going after it and being aggressive,” said Stubbs. “It was nice to see it carry over from practice.”

Maya Flemister got her first kill of the night late in the third set as the game was comfortably in the hands of Arizona. The Wildcats pulled away to win the third set 25-12.

“I thought we served better in that third set,” said Stubbs. “The better you are at serving, the better you are at blocking, and then you’re better defenders.”

Wilson finished the night with 13 kills, followed by Heath with seven. Cisneros finished with four kills and added two aces to her night. Bridges led the Wildcats with six blocks.

Arizona now moves to 15-12 (9-8 Big 12) on the season and will play its final home match of the season on Friday against Cincinnati for senior day. The team will honor Wilson, Heath, Giorgia Mandotti, and Haven Wray.

For Mandotti, her first home is in Italy, but the University of Arizona has become her home away from home.

“This is like a second home for me, because, well, my first home is very far,” said Mandotti. “Most of my life is here now, and I’m loving it. I have a lot of family here, even if they’re not like close family.”

The group of seniors has been with the program through the lows and helped get it to some highs. Now, it’s time to finish the home schedule in what they hope to be one final win.

“It’s a great group, I love the fact that they stuck with us, they fought the entire time and never waivered,” said Stubbs. “You only want the best for them.”