Connect with us

Arizona

Arizona volleyball stretches winning steak to 9, advances to NIVC semifinals

Published

on

Arizona volleyball stretches winning steak to 9, advances to NIVC semifinals


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.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

“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.

Advertisement

“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.”

Advertisement

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



Source link

Arizona

Arizona, career nights from Burries, Krivas beat K-State

Published

on

Arizona, career nights from Burries, Krivas beat K-State


TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Brayden Burries scored 28 points, Motiejus Krivas added a career-high 25 and No. 1 Arizona remained unbeaten with a 101-76 win over Kansas State on Wednesday night.

Arizona (15-0, 2-0 Big 12) is off to its best start since winning the first 21 games of the 2013-14 season. Arizona won by at least 18 points for the 10th consecutive game, matching a mark Michigan had earlier this season that tied for the longest such run since 2003-04.

Burries had his fifth 20-point game and matched his career high by going 12 for 16 from the field while adding nine rebounds. It was his 10th straight game in double figures, including at least 20 points in five of those, after just one over his first five.

Krivas was 7 of 10, making 11 of 13 free throws, and had 12 rebounds.

Advertisement

Koa Peat had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Tobe Awaka added nine and 11 as Arizona outrebounded Kansas State 55-32. Arizona shot 49.3% from the field but was just 3 of 16 from 3-point range.

Kansas State (9-6, 0-2) went 8 for 36 from deep and shot 33.8% overall. PJ Haggerty led the way with 19 points on 8-of-20 shooting, while Nate Johnson added 15 and Dorin Buca 12.

Down 15 at the half, Kansas State pulled within 58-49 with 16:09 left on a 3-pointer by Johnson. Arizona responded with a 6-0 run and kept the margin at least 12 the rest of the way. Back-to-back dunks by Burries and Peat and a corner 3-pointer by Jaden Bradley keyed a 13-0 run to put Arizona ahead 92-65 with 3:31 remaining.

It built a 10-point lead less than six minutes into the game and upped it to 20 with 2:52 left in the first half. Burries had 16 before halftime.

Advertisement





Source link

Continue Reading

Arizona

Arizona HS football’s No. 1 2027 prospect has ASU, Miami high on list

Published

on

Arizona HS football’s No. 1 2027 prospect has ASU, Miami high on list


play

  • Hildebrand is ranked as the No. 13 overall offensive tackle in the nation for the 2027 class by 247Sports.
  • Arizona State, Miami, Alabama, Texas A&M and USC are among his current favorites.
  • The 6-foot-6 left tackle has started every varsity game since his freshman year at Chandler Basha.

Chandler Basha left tackle Jake Hildebrand, the state’s No. 1 2027 college football prospect, said Arizona State and Miami are among the top potential schools on his recently revealed 10-best list.

Miami is playing in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl as part of the College Football Playoff semifinal against Ole Miss at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Jan. 8.

Advertisement

Hildebrand, 6-foot-6, 293 pounds, has started every varsity game since his freshman year and helped lead the Bears to the Open Division state title this past season. He won’t be able to attend the Fiesta Bowl because he’s in San Antonio, getting ready to play in the Jan. 10 Navy All-American Bowl. The game airs at 11 a.m. MST on NBC.

Hildebrand also has CFP semifinalists Indiana and Oregon, along with Texas A&M, Alabama, USC, Ohio State and Texas among his top 10 colleges.

“A few schools that are my favorite from the top 10 are ASU, Alabama, Texas A&M, Miami and USC,” Hildebrand said in a direct message to The Arizona Republic. “They have definitely been the schools that have been contacting me the most and built the best relationship with.”

There is no timetable for when Hildebrand will commit. He could wait until he makes trips this spring, summer and fall. But he is among the most coveted left tackles in the country, who has 38 offers, according to 247Sports.

Advertisement

The 247Sports Composite has Hildebrand ranked as the No. 13 overall offensive tackle in the country in the 2027 class. He is ranked No. 1 in the class of 2027 by The Republic.

Richard Obert has been covering high school sports since the 1980s for The Arizona Republic. Catch the best high school sports coverage in the state. Sign up for Azcentral Preps Now. And be sure to subscribe to our daily sports newsletters so you don’t miss a thing. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert





Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Arizona

Future of Arizona’s Oak Flat faces pivotal day in Phoenix courtroom

Published

on

Future of Arizona’s Oak Flat faces pivotal day in Phoenix courtroom


play

  • Three lawsuits are before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to prevent the U.S. Forest Service from transferring Oak Flat to a mining company.
  • The site, sacred to Apache and other Native peoples, would be destroyed by a proposed copper mine by Resolution Copper.
  • The land exchange was authorized in 2014 through a last-minute addition to a defense bill, sparking a decade-long battle.

Three lawsuits aiming to keep the U.S. Forest Service from turning over Oak Flat to a mining company for a massive copper mine go in front of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for arguments Jan. 7.

The British-Australian firm Resolution Copper has long sought the exchange to build a mine that bodes to obliterate a site Apaches and other Native peoples hold sacred. It also is one of Arizona’s few functional wetlands.

Advertisement

Two lawsuits filed by the San Carlos Apache Tribe and a coalition of environmentalists and the Inter Tribal Association of Arizona challenged the land exchange, authorized by a last-minute amendment to a “must-pass” defense bill in December 2014. The arguments in the lawsuits are based on the tribe’s religious beliefs and on environmental concerns, including disputes over water usage and possible damage of one of central Arizona’s key aquifers.

In the third suit, the latest to be filed, a group of Apache women who have spiritual and cultural connections to the site argue that the exchange would violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the First Amendment’s religious rights protections and two environmental laws.

Their lawsuit also brought two new factors into play: a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that affirms parental rights to direct their children’s religious education and references to Justice Neil Gorsuch’s blistering dissent to the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear another case related to the land exchange.

Advertisement

A three-judge panel will hear the cases at the Sandra Day O’Connor U.S. Courthouse in Phoenix.

Religious rights advocates and First Amendment experts have said the ability of Native peoples to exercise their religious rights is at stake.

Oak Flat story: As an Apache girl enters womanhood, lawsuits and tariffs cast shadows

The struggle over Oak Flat nears 30-year mark

For more than two decades, Oak Flat Campground, known to Apaches as Chi’chil Biłdagoteel, “the place where the Emory oak grows,” has been ground zero in a battle over Native religious rights on public lands as well as environmental preservation for a scarce Arizona ecosystem.

Advertisement

The 2,200-acre primitive campground and riparian zone, within the Tonto National Forest about 60 miles east of Phoenix, also lies over one of the nation’s largest remaining bodies of copper ore.

To obtain the copper, Resolution, which is owned by multinational firms Rio Tinto and BHP, plans to use a method known as block cave mining in which tunnels are drilled beneath the ore body, and then collapsed, leaving the ore to be moved to a crushing facility.

Eventually, the ground would subside, leaving behind a crater about 1,000 feet deep and nearly 2 miles across, obliterating Oak Flat.

Resolution Copper, a British-Australian mining firm, sought Congressional approval to exchange other parcels of land it had purchased with the U.S. Forest Service for nearly 10 years when the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and other officials engineered a late-night rider to a must-pass defense bill in December 2014. Then-President Barack Obama signed the bill and ever since, tribes, environmentalists and their allies have fought to stop the exchange.

Resolution has said that the mine would bring much-needed jobs and revenues to the economically challenged Copper Triangle to the tune of about $1 billion a year. The company has provided funding to support recovery from the floods that devastated downtown Globe in October and has supported other community organizations.

Advertisement

In November, Resolution announced it had completed rehabilitation of the historic No. 9 shaft at the Magma minehead, including deepening it to nearly 6,900 feet and connecting it to the No. 10 shaft, which plunges about 6,940 feet below the surface.

Vicky Peacey, president and general manager of Resolution, said the shaft project was a huge milestone, employing homegrown talent from surrounding communities to get the job done.

Despite the ongoing litigation, she said, “We are ready to advance this important copper project, enabling thousands of high-paying jobs, billions in economic development for rural Arizona, and access to a domestic supply of copper essential to American security and modern infrastructure.”

Grassroots group Apache Stronghold, led by former San Carlos Apache Tribal Chairman Wendsler Nosie, filed the first lawsuit to stop the exchange. That litigation was declined twice by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2025, but Apache Stronghold continues to fight the land exchange as the group supports the other three lawsuits.

Debra Krol reports on Indigenous communities at the confluence of climate, culture and commerce in Arizona and the Intermountain West. Reach Krol at debra.krol@azcentral.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @debkrol and on Bluesky at @debkrol.bsky.social.

Advertisement





Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending