The rest of the Big 12 is done playing volleyball this season with all six teams that made the NCAA Tournament knocked out by the second round. That leaves Arizona (22-9, 9-9 Big 12) to carry the postseason banner for the league in the NIVC. One more win and the Wildcats would be in the “Fab 4” of the secondary tournament.

The Wildcats did that in relatively quick fashion, defeating the Wyoming Cowgirls 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-17) to stretch their winning streak to nine matches. With another match less than 24 hours away, it was a relief.

“It’s really important because we got to get our rest,” said junior outside hitter Jordan Wilson. “A lot of us have to prepare for finals. A lot of people are studying and have their studies to attend to so I’m happy that we really took care of business. We noticed in the third set that we were starting kind of slow, and we picked ourselves back up. We’re like, hey, this team really likes to go to five. They’re pretty good at doing that, so we got to stay disciplined and take care of business or else they will.”

The Cowgirls (17-13, 7-11 MWC) had gone to five sets in 12 of their 29 matches coming into Wednesday evening.

All three of Arizona’s pins ended up with double-digit kills. Wilson led the way with a double-double. She finished with 13 kills on .276 hitting to go with her 11 digs. She also had a solo block and a service ace to score 15 points.

Carlie Cisneros and Jaelyn Hodge both ended with 10 kills. Cisneros hit .261 while Hodge went for .308. Hodge also had four total blocks and five digs. Cisneros threw in eight digs.

Senior middle blocker Alayna Johnson had a lot to say about it, too. After starting most of her career, she took a place as a reserve for most of her final season. She has been starting the last few matches in the absence of Kiari Robey, and she’s made the most of it.

“She made a big impact,” Wilson said.

Against the Cowgirls, Johnson had seven kills on .545 hitting. She also had an assist, an ace, two digs, and five total blocks (one solo). The blocks were especially big as Arizona blocked Wyoming nine times.

“For AJ, it is just a matter of her just believing that, one, I believe in her, and that her teammates believe in her,” Arizona head coach Rita Stubbs said. “And so it’s just a reminder, hey, jump hard. You’re gonna get rewarded. And Avery (Scoggins) rewarded her a lot today. As a blocker, I mean, there’s no secrets there. That was probably her weakest part of her game, but she’s embracing it more now because she has confidence. And she’s always said she has confidence, but I actually see her confidence now, which is refreshing.”

Arizona didn’t run away with the match, but the Wildcats quietly controlled it most of the time. Wyoming’s last lead in the first set was 2-1. Arizona kept a two- to three-point lead for most of the set. The Cowgirls got within a point at 18-17, but Arizona pulled away at the end with an 8-2 run to go up 1-0.

The Wildcats led wire-to-wire in the second set. Once again, the Cowgirls closed the lead to two points on several occasions. That stalled at 19-17 with Arizona winning six of the last seven points to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Wyoming got a better start to the third set, going up 4-1. Arizona tied it at six point apiece. The final tie came at 7-7. The Wildcats used a 5-0 run to take an 11-7 lead. The Cowgirls never got closer than two points after that.

Stubbs was able to play more of her bench in the final set. She got senior opposite Amanda DeWitt in and also played Ana Heath at setter briefly. Heath was the starting setter last year but gave way to Pacific Region Freshman of the Year Scoggins this year. During a pause in action, Scoggins went to the huddle of players on the floor and hugged Heath. When Scoggins returned to the court, Heath stayed in to play opposite.

“Ana is definitely Avery’s biggest fan and encouraging her along the way, and Avery was excited to be able to do that back to her while she was out there on the floor,” Stubbs said. “And then when Avery went back in to set, she was like, ‘Oh, I’m setting Ana right now so that I can show her how much I appreciate what she’s doing.’ Because it’s not an easy role that Ana has been put in, but because she’s a great person, and, I mean, she’s just a model citizen. Everything about her is awesome. She is made for the role she’s in, but she still wants more, and so the key is for me to find more for her.”

The first set to Heath was an attack error. The second got Arizona to set point. Then, last year’s starting setter gave her team the kill that put the match away.

Arizona now moves on to face Northern Colorado on Thursday, Dec. 12 at 6 p.m. MST in McKale Center. The Bears engineered a reverse sweep of Arkansas State just before the Wildcats faced the Cowgirls.

Arizona and Northern Colorado played an exhibition match in Greeley, Colorado earlier this year. The Bears took a set off the Wildcats, but it wasn’t the same team they will face on Thursday.

“What I do know about Arizona is they’re in a different lineup than they were when we saw them in early August, mid-August, I should say, as an exhibition match,” UNC head coach Lyndsey Oates. “That’s a long time ago. I just said to the team, ‘We might be familiar with this team,’ and they all went, ‘No, we’re not.’ That seems like a world away in terms of time that we played them.”

Thursday is not a world away, though. The two teams will vie for the right to play for a championship in less than 24 hours.

Lead photo by Rebecca Sasnett / Arizona Athletics

The Seattle Seahawks’ pressure rate on Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray fell nearly 20 percent from the first matchup to the second, but that was more due to offensive adjustments than defensive failure.

In Week 12, Seattle pressured Murray on 22 of his 37 dropbacks (59.5 percent) and sacked him five times, per Pro Football Focus. This past week, Murray faced pressure on 17 of 42 dropbacks (40.5 percent) and was sacked just twice.

But those numbers don’t exist in a vacuum. Pivoting from the failed offensive approach that led to no touchdowns for Arizona in the first matchup, the Cardinals opted for more quick throws in Week 14.

That was a direct counter to Seattle’s potent pass rush that torched the Cardinals’ offensive line — a unit that entered the first game allowing pressure on less than 25 percent of Murray’s pass attempts.

Murray’s average time to throw against the Seahawks dropped from 3.19 seconds in Week 12 to 2.73 seconds in Week 14, per PFF. That was below his season average of 2.86 seconds.

Seattle’s pass rushers had fewer chances to affect Murray, but the back end of the defense still nabbed two interceptions as the dual-threat Arizona quarterback’s average depth of target dropped by nearly three yards per attempt.

Rookie first-round defensive tackle Byron Murphy II tied his season high of four pressures, followed by three each from edge rusher Derick Hall and defensive tackle Jarran Reed. Hall and Reed each logged a quarterback hit.

Safety Rayshawn Jenkins and nose tackle Johnathan Hankins registered the Seahawks’ two sacks.

Seattle’s pressure-to-sack percentage (P2S%) remains below average, but it still is affecting quarterbacks at an above-average rate. After Week 14, the Seahawks rank 23rd in P2S% at 13.17 percent. They’re simultaneously fifth in total pressures at 243.

After a two-game series that was as dominant as any defensive lineman in NFL history, Leonard Williams fell back to earth pass rush-wise but still tallied seven tackles and a tackle for loss.

Williams still leads Seattle with 40 total pressures, seven sacks and 10 quarterback hits this season. He’s been the Seahawks’ most productive rusher this season and is the primary reason they are tied for 15th in total sacks (32).

Edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu didn’t have a stellar return, but he also played just 21 defensive snaps in his first game back from injury. That was third-least of any player who saw the field on defense for Seattle.

The Green Bay Packers, who Seattle hosts on Sunday night, have a puzzling offensive line. Quarterback Jordan Love has been pressured on 31.7 percent of his dropbacks this season, which is higher than the Cardinals, but Love has only been sacked 11 times.

For reference: Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith has been brought down 40 times this season, while Murray has been sacked 23 times.

Pressuring Love will be key to creating potential takeaways for the Seahawks’ defense and putting the Packers behind the sticks. Seattle has been most effective defensively this season when getting consistent pressure.

Seattle and Green Bay kick off at 5:20 p.m. on Sunday at Lumen Field. The Seahawks will have the crowd to their advantage to help aid the defensive effort.

Seahawks RB Zach Charbonnet Garners Ground Player of Week Honors

How Did Uchenna Nwosu Perform in Return to Seahawks’ Lineup?

NFL Power Rankings: Seahawks Enter Top 10?

Is Jaxon Smith-Njigba Seahawks’ New WR1?

Seahawks ‘Not Sure’ About Ken Walker III’s Status Entering Week 15

PHOENIX — Despite widespread dissatisfaction with the state’s public education system, many Arizona teachers are staying out of love for their students, according to new research.

A new report from the Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy that surveyed over 7,500 Arizona teachers found that nearly two-thirds of them have considered leaving their jobs.

However, the desire to improve their students’ lives keeps them going, according to Kristi Eustice, the institute’s assistant research director.

“Educators care about their students, and they feel like they’re making a difference, so that’s what’s keeping them in the classroom,” Eustice told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News on Wednesday.

Many teachers feel that students’ needs have grown acutely since the COVID-19 pandemic, she added.

“Educators talked about student behavior and how they think they’ve seen an increase in student behavior challenges, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said. “They really talked about it from the perspective of needing more support staff, needing more help to get the students the support they need.”

Other reasons Arizona teachers are staying

Aside from loyalty to their students, a supportive administration can also help fight Arizona’s struggling retention rates, she added.

“School leadership can make a big difference in the classroom: having an administration that’s supportive and takes into account educators allows them to be in the room for decision-making,” Eustice said.

It can make a world of difference for Arizona teachers, many of whom cited low salaries and meager benefits as issues driving them out of the profession.

The struggles of being a teacher in the Grand Canyon state can have deleterious effects on an instructor’s mental health, according to Eustice.

“In our focus groups and interviews, we heard explicit mentions of things like anxiety and depression,” Eustice said. “There’s just kind of an overwhelming feeling of ‘there’s too much to do and not enough time to do it.’”