Arizona
Arizona volleyball finishes opening weekend undefeated
If energy was a problem in the early going of Arizona volleyball’s match on Saturday, the Wildcats had fixed that problem by Sunday’s match against Fresno State. They were active and aggressive from the start in a 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-20) victory over the Bulldogs.
“It was something that I wanted, especially after yesterday’s game,” Arizona head coach Rita Stubbs said. “I didn’t feel like we started off with a lot of energy (yesterday). So it was good.”
The win pushed Arizona’s winning streak to 14 straight matches stretching back to last year. The last time the Wildcats lost was a home match to Kansas State. After a players’ meeting, they took out No. 8 Kansas in the next match and didn’t lose again.
The 14-match winning streak matches the longest in program history. Arizona last won 14 straight matches in 2000.
“I think that’s pretty cool,” said sophomore setter Avery Scoggins. “We definitely want to get a lot more wins in the future, so we’re gonna work hard to accomplish more than that.”
Oustide hitters Jordan Wilson and Carlie Cisneros once again led the way.
Wilson was not only effective, she was also highly efficient. Despite being subbed out at 11-9 in the third set, the senior ended with 12 kills on 20 swings. She had just one hitting error, ending the day with a .550 hitting percentage.
Just as she did in the other two matches this weekend, Wilson had an impact in most aspects of the game. While she struggled a bit on serve, committing three service errors without an ace, she had a block and five digs. She ended with 12.5 points.
Wilson’s efficiency has been especially noticeable in the first weekend. She has improved each season at Arizona, hitting .215 as a sophomore and .249 last year, but has started especially strong this year.
Over the first three matches, Wilson is hitting .353 and has 4.0 kills per set. Last year, she hit .260 over the first weekend and was subbed out in the second match after just one set with six errors on seven swings without a kill.
“I think that, one, she wants to play professional so she knows there are some things that she needs to do to put herself in a position to be seen favorably by those out there that’ll be making those decisions,” Stubbs said. “But more importantly, she just wants to be the leader on the team and the one that’s willing to carry the load, and she knows in order to do that, she has to be consistent with her level of play so people can look to her and not worry if she struggles.”
Cisneros led the team with 13 kills. She did it on .270 hitting. She was second in the match with three total blocks, trailing only Arizona middle blocker Adrianna Bridges. Cisneros threw in a service ace to lead the team with 15.5 points. She also had two assists.
Bridges was once again Arizona’s other primary offensive weapon. The sophomore had four kills, two service aces, and four total blocks for eight points.
Stubbs once again subbed liberally. All three of the opposites on the roster saw at least some court time, as did all three of the healthy middle blockers. Four of the five libero/defensive specialists played.
The two bring different things to the table, with Heath being quicker and Carlson being a bigger block at the net and more effective when the team is out of system.
“That’s where Ana kind of gets hurt every time,” Stubbs said. “It’s because I think she’s too aggressive in most situations. But you gotta understand the personnel of it, because Jordan is extremely aggressive out of system, but she brings something different to the table, and her level of confidence and being comfortable there is a lot different.”
Stubbs believes they need to be able to use both of them without missing a beat and is not set on one of them being the primary player at the position yet.
Freshman outside hitter Paige Thies came into the match for Wilson in the third set. She had three kills on seven swings without an error. She also had a dig.
Bridges played the whole match at middle blocker. Sydnie Vanek and Maya Flemister split time on the court, with Flemister coming in during the final set.
The variety of teammates she is setting for is something Scoggins is still working through. While she got to play with all of them except Thies during the spring, it is still a learning experience when the games count.
“I think it’s something that takes time getting used to, and I feel…like I need to work on my connections with everybody and everything can always get better,” Scoggins said.
She did feel that her connections with the middles was getting better. Bridges did not play much last year, Vanek is new to the position at the college level, and Flemister is a freshman, so that is a focus for Scoggins and the middle blocker group.
“For me today, I thought, obviously, there’s a lot of sets that I could have cleaned up,” Scoggins said. “I haven’t been the most consistent this past weekend, but that’s a good thing, because now I can clean it up going forward, in the future, and knowing what specific sets that I need to work on. I thought the middle connection today was pretty solid. I thought overall, everybody did really good. We didn’t make a lot of unforced errors, which is good. And overall, I thought the team did really well. There’s still stuff to work on, but that’s a good thing. We want stuff to work on right now.”
Arizona dominated in all statistical categories. The Wildcats’ blocking and serving games gave the Bulldogs a lot of problems. While UA only ended with five total blocks on the stat sheet, their block touches set a tone, especially in the early going.
In the service game, Arizona kept Fresno State’s serve receive off balance. The Wildcats had eight aces to 10 service errors, sticking pretty close to the desirable one-to-one mark.
The Wildcats led for almost the entire match. Fresno State’s only leads came early in the third set. The last one was at 5-4.
Addison Haluska led Fresno State with a match-high 15 kills. The downside is it took her 40 swings and nine errors to get there. Haluska also had two total blocks to lead the match with 17 points.
The Wildcats go on the road next week to play in the Boise State Tournament against the host Broncos, former Pac-12 foe Oregon State, and UC San Diego. Their only other home match in nonconference play comes against UTEP on Sept. 16. They play seven of their 11 nonconference matches on the road or at neutral sites before starting Big 12 play with two road matches.
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Believe it or not, the 2026 All-Star Game voting process has already begun, as of Wednesday. Fans who want to see their favorite members of the Arizona Diamondbacks take the field in the midsummer classic this season can begin voting for their stars.
There are certainly some deserving players on this Diamondbacks club, which is currently 32-28 and occupying the third Wild Card sport in the National League.
Here’s how and where you can vote for your hometown heroes:
How to vote for Diamondbacks players to make All-Star Game
Fans can utilize the following link to vote for members of their team on dbacks.com. Fans are permitted to fill out and submit as many as five ballots per day, selecting as many or as few players as they choose.
This period of the fan vote constitutes Phase 1 of All-Star voting, which will run from Wednesday, June 3 through Thursday, June 25 at 9:00 a.m. Arizona time (12:00 p.m. Eastern time).
Following Phase 1, the two overall top vote-getters will receive automatic berths into the All-Star lineups. If those two are not Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge once again, that would be an upset.
When and where is the 2026 All-Star Game?
The 2026 All-Star Game will take place at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Phillies in Philadelphia. All-Star week begins on June 10, with a full slate of activities, before the game is played on Tuesday, July 14 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time (5:00 p.m. Arizona time).
The full schedule of events are as follows:
- Friday, July 10: HBCU Swingman Classic
- Saturday, July 11: 2026 MLB Draft
- Sunday, July 12: All-Star Sunday, MLB Futures Game, MLBx All-Star 3-on-3
- Monday, July 13: T-Mobile Home Run Derby (8:00 p.m. ET)
- Tuesday, July 14: All-Star Red Carpet, All-Star Game
Which Diamondbacks are deserving All-Stars?
| Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
So, who should Diamondbacks fans vote for? Obviously, you may fill out the ballot however you choose. That can include a full roster of Diamondbacks, regardless of their stats or notoriety this season.
Still, here are some of the top performing D-backs who might have a leg up on an All-Star berth:
OF Corbin Carroll
Corbin Carroll is having another All-Star worthy season. He’s hitting .289/.380/.545 with a .925 OPS and eight home runs, while playing good right field defense. He has the eighth-most bWAR (2.7) among position players, fifth-most in the National League, and third-most among all pure outfielders.
2B Ketel Marte
If Marte wins the NL second base fan vote, it will be his third straight season starting the All-Star game. Despite such a slow start to the year, that feels possible again. Marte is hitting .259/.315/.456 with 10 homers and is playing the best defense of his career.
3B Nolan Arenado
Nolan Arenado is quietly putting together one of his better seasons of the 2020s, slashing .269/.351/.467 with eight homers and flashing his elite third base glove at nearly as good a pace as ever. His name still carries a lot of weight in third base conversations; he’ll get some votes, no matter what.
1B Ildemaro Vargas
Vargas’ bat has cooled down quite a bit since his historic start to 2026. He’s still hitting a sturdy .290/.318/.454, but feels more likely to be considered as a reserve selection than a leading vote-getter.
Honorable Mention: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez
Pitchers are not selected by the fan vote. They are selected by player ballots and the All-Star Game managers. The National League’s manager will be Dave Roberts of the Dodgers, again.
The National League has quite a few talented pitchers, but Eduardo Rodriguez currently holds the fifth-best starting pitcher ERA (2.24) among NL hurlers. It’s going to be difficult to dethrone Christopher Sanchez or Jacob Misiorowski, but Rodriguez could find his way into the pitching pool, especially after his WBC heroics for Team Venezuela.
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Arizona State has added Michael White to its coaching staff for the upcoming 2026-2027 season. White will join the program as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.
“I am incredibly honored to return to my home state and join this elite program,” White said. “I’m proud to say that I am coming home. I can’t thank Coach Herbie enough for the opportunity to join his incredible staff and help these young athletes grow and develop into the best individuals they can be. There are so many friends and mentors who have left their mark on this program, and I’m excited for the opportunity to leave mine and help take this program to new heights. Go Devils!”
White arrives with the Sun Devils after most recently spending the last three seasons with Alabama as an assistant. The Alabama women finished 11th at the 2026 NCAA Championships while the men were 24th.
Prior to arriving at Alabama, White spent the 2022-2023 season as a volunteer assistant at Wisconsin. He primarily coached the freestyle, breaststroke and distance groups for the Badgers. In addition to coaching the Badgers, he also was an assistant senior coach with the Madison Aquatics Club for the year. He began his coaching career at Juniata College in Pennsylvania as a volunteer assistant from 2019-2021.
White spent his collegiate career at St. Bonaventure in New York. There he was a 7x individual Atlantic-10 champion and swam to three school records as a senior with a 1:47.30 200 IM, 3:52.18 400 IM, and a 1:47.70 200 fly. He also was team captain for two season and helped the team capture the 2014 A-10 team title.
The Scottsdale, Arizona native will return to his home state. He was a 2012 AIA Division I state champion in the 100 breast and 200 IM as a senior for Dobson High School.
White joins the coaching staff led by head coach Herbie Behm, who is already known to be an innovative coach. Behm spoke of White’s innovation as well saying, “Mike is one of the best young coaches in the NCAA. His interview blew me away with the innovative ideas he presented. I can’t wait to start implementing those ideas and continue our growth at ASU.”
Arizona State swept the 2026 Big 12 team titles, and the men went on to finish 4th at 2026 NCAAs while the women were 37th. Rising senior Ilya Kharun captured the NCAA title in the 200 fly with a 1:37.66.
Arizona is ranked 18th in the nation when it comes to racial equality in the classroom, according to WalletHub.
The personal finance website compiled its 2026 list of Best States for Racial Equality in Education by looking at differences between Black and white students when it comes to test scores, college attainment and high school graduation rates.
The rankings are based on a weighted average of six metrics, but did WalletHub not provide a breakdown of each category.
However, statistics from the Center for the Future of Arizona support the idea that Arizona has work to do when it comes to racial equality. African American students in Arizona have an average college attainment rate of 38%, while white students have an average rate of 54%.
That difference is also evident in other education areas, with a gap of 11 percentage points between Black and white high schoolers in graduation rate.
WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo called the high school graduation rate the most “alarming” data set for the Arizona. He said if the study included the state’s large Hispanic population, the results might have been different.
“It would be interesting, if those numbers were included, where the gaps would be. Again, Arizona has a high Hispanic population, as [does] New Mexico, and New Mexico was at number three. So maybe Arizona could take a look at what their neighbors are doing there to kind of bridge those gaps,” he said.
How can Arizona increase racial equality in the classroom?
Lupo said Arizona can boost its ranking and improve racial equality in schools by increasing the representation and funding for public education.
“One thing [to] do is to build more diversity within the school system. More Black administrators and more Black teachers kind of create more of a familiarity for Black students and more mentors. … Increased funding and a more concerted effort to increase diversity among the school systems, I think, would go a long way in bridging that gap,” he said.
WalletHub ranked Wyoming, West Virginia and New Mexico as the best states for racial equality in the classroom, with New Jersey, Connecticut and Wisconsin at the bottom of the list.
Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.
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