Arizona
Arizona volleyball struggles with inconsistency in 5-set loss to Colorado
Consistency is a major ingredient in the formula for success. Enormous performance highs countered by equally enormous lows have been a sticking point for Arizona volleyball head coach Rita Stubbs all season.
Both individual players and the team as a whole have battled those “woes and flows,” as Stubbs called them. The Wildcats dealt with them again on Wednesday evening in a 3-2 (15-25, 25-17, 25-21, 25-27, 18-16) loss to Colorado. It marked Arizona’s third straight loss, two of which have come at home.
“It absolutely sucks,” Stubbs said. “Two matches at home that we should not have lost.”
Stubbs was also right about her pre-match assessment of the Buffaloes. She told the media in her weekly press conference that Colorado was a team that would continue to fight no matter what. After all, it was the ninth five-set match for CU this season. The Buffs were 5-3 in the previous eight.
The Arizona head coach was visibly frustrated with the result and the way the match unfolded.
“We just didn’t listen,” Stubbs said. “Every team that we play against, all they do is sit in front of (Kiari Robey), and so she gets frustrated. And you know that now there’s nothing there for her offensively. And then others are still trying to do things they have no business trying to do. They gotta live in the world that we’re in, and I’m telling them that we have to do a better job of coming in and doing what we’re asking them to do, not the what-if thing.”
Stubbs was especially frustrated with the three pins. She felt that Jaelyn Hodge, Jordan Wilson, and Carlie Cisneros all went their own way at times. She has been insistent all season that the pins need to avoid hitting down the line or trying to go around the blockers because it either means hitting into the defense or hitting out of bounds. She wants them to use the block more.
“Blockers were already on the line, yet they’re still hitting down the line,” Stubbs said. “That was one of the main things.”
She also felt that the inconsistency came back to haunt them in the crucial second and third sets that gave the Buffaloes the lead.
“Jae didn’t show up at all in the second and third sets,” Stubbs said. “She got better, but she didn’t show up in two sets offensively, defensively, blocking. Jordan was in and out. Carlie was hitting where she shouldn’t be hitting.”
Those two sets turned the tide in the match.
Arizona came out hot. The only lead Colorado had in the first set came at 3-2. From there, the Wildcats won six of seven points to take an 8-4 advantage. They had seven runs of at least two points including two different 4-0 runs to keep control of the set and win decisively.
As positive as the opening set was for Arizona, the second frame was just as disappointing. The score was tight until 8-8 then Colorado started stringing runs together while the Wildcats didn’t. UA had just four runs of two or more points. It didn’t put more than three points together all set.
It was more of the same in the third set. Arizona scored more than one point in a row just four times. It didn’t score more than two in a row at all.
Colorado wasn’t going on huge runs, but it had enough two- and three-point runs that it could afford to trade points with the Wildcats late in the set. The visitors did just enough to take the 2-1 lead.
The Wildcats woke up again in the fourth. With their backs against the wall, they ran out to a 6-1 lead. They led by as many as seven points, but the Buffs started chipping away at 18-11.
Arizona stalled at 20-15. CU went on a 6-0 run to take a 21-20 lead. Things looked to be over.
UA fought back to go up by two points again at 23-21. Colorado countered with a 3-0 run to give it match point, but the Wildcats responded with two straight points to garner a set point.
CU saved the first set point, but couldn’t save the second and Arizona had new life. The 15-point final set would decide it.
The Wildcats took an 11-7 lead in the fifth. They just needed four points before the Buffaloes got eight.
Instead, they stalled again, and Colorado came back to tie it at 12 points apiece. Arizona fought back to earn the first match point in the final frame. It came at 14-13.
While service errors weren’t a huge problem in the match—at least not when compared to the 2.86 per set that the Wildcats average—that old nemesis rose its head at the worst possible time. Hodge’s service error wiped away the match point.
The fifth-year pin shook it off. On the next point, Hodge’s kill gave the Wildcats their second match point.
The Buffaloes responded with two straight points to get their own match point. The back-and-forth affair continued with Cisneros getting the kill to even it up again.
That only prolonged the agony. CU got another match point—its third of the match and second of the set—and this time Cisneros hit out for the final margin.
While Stubbs was frustrated with some of Wilson’s play, the junior outside hitter had her strongest match in Big 12 play. She had 16 kills on .324 hitting. She added three total blocks and two aces for a season-high 19.5 points. She got a double-double by throwing in 11 digs.
Wilson continued to have difficulties in the back row as she works to become a full-time player, but Stubbs has said all season that it’s to be expected when making this change. Wilson had four receiving errors, accounting for half of CU’s aces, but she was the most offensively efficient of Arizona’s three pins throughout the match.
Cisneros led the Wildcats with 19 kills, but she also had eight of their 27 hitting errors to drop her hitting percentage to .239. An ace and a block assist gave her 20.5 points. Like the other two pins, she ended with a double-double. She matched Wilson with 11 digs.
Hodge led the team with 21 points resulting from 17 kills, an ace, and six block assists. Her double-double included 13 digs.
As a team, Arizona ended with 65 kills to Colorado’s 62. The Wildcats won the digs category 65-60 and out-blocked the Buffaloes 12 to 7.
CU won in hitting percentage .252 to .228 largely because they won the attack error stat 22-27. The Buffaloes had eight aces to the Wildcats’ seven and 10 service errors compared to UA’s 11.
The difference came down to who was more consistent more often. The Buffs spread the good and the bad over four of the five sets, only failing to keep pace with Arizona in the opening frame. The Wildcats had one excellent set, then swung in the other direction for the next two, before stabilizing in the final two sets.
“We do tend to struggle with being a little bit of a rollercoaster with how we’re playing or not, and I think the moment that we start to get consistent, having a strong start, strong, middle, and strong finish I think we’ll be good,” Wilson said. “I think the up and down is what really kind of lost it today.”
Arizona gets another opportunity to protect its home court and find that consistency on Friday when Houston comes to town. The Cougars were swept by ASU on Wednesday evening.
Lead photo by Reagan Helfer / Arizona Athletics
The Arizona man known as the “QAnon Shaman” said Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s new Anti-Weaponization Fund is an abuse of power by a would-be “king.”
Jacob Angeli-Chansley – the face of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot with his red, white and blue face paint and horned fur headdress – denounced the $1.776 billion program as a “slush fund” for Trump to reward his loyalists.
The Justice Department announced the fund on Monday as part of a settlement with Trump, who had sued the IRS for $10 billion over the leak of his tax returns. The settlement included an assurance that the IRS will drop all audits and claims for back taxes against Trump, his family and businesses.
“You think I’m gonna take a f—ing dime from Trump and the government after he’s using this thing to cover him and his family in perpetuity for all of their crimes?” he told Cronkite News by phone. “You think I’m gonna take a dime of that blood money?”
Trump pardoned more than 1,500 people who participated in the Jan. 6 riot the day he returned to the White House in January 2025. Many had been convicted of assaulting police officers.
Cronkite News reached out to 17 of those defendants with Arizona ties. None besides Angeli-Chansley responded.
Thirteen were convicted or pleaded guilty to crimes related to the attack. Four of the cases were dismissed after the pardon. The charges included assault on federal agents, physical violence at the Capitol and seditious conspiracy.
See our previous coverage of the Anti-Weaponization Fund and “QAnon Shaman” in the video player above.
Angeli-Chansley pleaded guilty to a charge of obstruction of an official proceeding. He served 27 months of a 41-month sentence. He was released from federal prison in March 2023.
During the riot, he carried an American flag fastened to a spear and used a bullhorn to call other rioters to the dais in the Senate chamber.
“He stated that ‘Mike Pence is a f—-ing traitor’ and wrote a note on available paper on the dais, stating, ‘It’s Only A Matter of Time. Justice Is Coming,’” according to prosecutors.
At a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing Tuesday, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the compensation fund, saying it will be open to anyone victimized by a politically motivated prosecution, not just Jan. 6 defendants.
“It’s not limited to Republicans. … It’s not limited to the Biden weaponization. It’s not limited to, in any way scope or form, January 6 or to (targets of special counsel) Jack Smith. There’s no limitation on the claims,” Blanche said.
He rejected Democrats’ assertions that the fund is a massive, taxpayer-funded attempt by Trump to whitewash the assault on democracy.
“I think it’s telling that everybody on the left and … the liberal side of the media immediately says it’s a slush fund for President Trump’s friends,” Blanche said. “If anything else, that’s an outright admission that they know that the people that really had this Department of Justice weaponized against them were President Trump and his friends. But … that is not what the AG order that I signed yesterday says.”
Blanche, who served as Trump’s private attorney in several cases – prosecutions over election interference and classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago and allegations of hush money paid to an adult actress ahead of the 2016 election – faced strong criticism from Senate Democrats.
“You are acting today like the president’s personal attorney and that’s the whole problem,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, who also noted that a huge banner with Trump’s portrait was draped over the front of the Department of Justice building in February.
At a homeland security committee meeting Tuesday, Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego called for legislation barring establishment of a fund of the sort proposed by the Trump administration.
He called it outrageous to provide compensation to “traitors who attacked the Capitol.”
“No president, Republican or Democrat, should be able to use the federal treasury as a personal checkbook,” he said.
Angeli-Chansley now refers to himself as the “American Shaman.” He was heavily involved in the QAnon movement, which centered on a conspiracy theory that Trump was fighting a cabal of Satan worshippers who engage in child sex trafficking.
He was a strong MAGA supporter when the pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol, interrupting congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.
Angeli-Chansley has since become disenchanted with Trump. He has also repudiated the QAnon movement.
In a rambling phone conversation with Cronkite News, he repeatedly cited Trump’s connections to Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy financier and convicted sex offender who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting federal trial for trafficking young women and girls for sex.
He reiterated his anger with Trump for resisting the release of the Epstein files.
And he criticized Trump for attacking Iran and supporting Israel, among other things.
Angeli-Chansley sued Trump for $40 trillion in September 2025, asserting he is the true leader of the free world and vowing to use the sum to wipe out the national debt. The lawsuit was dismissed. He later filed a lawsuit against the CIA, FBI, World Bank and others in Maricopa County.
He urged fellow Jan. 6ers to “reject that … money.”
If courts allow the fund to operate, Angeli-Chansley said, it would mean that Trump “can do whatever it is that he wants.”
Teacher unions call for board member’s resignation after ‘Nazi salute’
Teacher unions call for District Boardmember Kimberly Fisher’s resignation after she made a “Nazi salute” during a public meeting on May 26, 2026.
Provided by Deer Valley Unified School District
School teacher unions are calling for the resignation of a Deer Valley Unified School District board member after she made a “Nazi salute” and said “heil’ at the end of a public meeting on May 26.
Boardmember Kimberly Fisher stretched out her arm, making the salute motion and repeating the word “heil” twice after the board president called for a vote to adjourn the meeting.
Fisher defended her actions in a Facebook video after the meeting, stating she made the gesture because she felt that the board had been under a “dictatorship” led by Board President Paul Carver and the district’s superintendent.
“All I could think of tonight was Hitler, so that’s why I said heil or whatever,” Fisher said in an eight-minute-long video.
Prior to the motion, Fisher and the board members were speaking on scheduling future meetings to discuss changes to district boundaries. Superintendent Curtis Finch stated they could not discuss the topic because it was on the meeting’s agenda. Then Carver quickly called for a vote to end the meeting, which prompted Fisher to make the salute.
The board members did not immediately react or acknowledge Fisher’s salute at the May 26 meeting.
This was not the first time Fisher has recently come under scrutiny. In October, she was slammed with a violation of Open Meeting Law by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, The Daily Independent reported.
Fisher could not be immediately reached for comment.
How the community is reacting to Fisher’s Nazi salute
The local chapter of the Anti-Defamation League, an organization focused on advocating against antisemitism and hate, denounced Fisher’s use of the salute.
“We unequivocally condemn this behavior that glorifies Nazis and Hitler. Regardless of intent, these actions instill fear in the community and are unbecoming of officials entrusted with educating children,” said Sarah Kader, the deputy regional director of ADL Desert, in a social media post.
The Arizona Education Association and the Deer Valley Education Association are calling for Fisher’s resignation.
“Kimberly Fisher should apologize to the DVUSD community and step down,” the state union group wrote on X.
The local teacher union wrote in a Facebook statement that they were “horrified and disgusted” to see Fisher’s actions.
“Any leader who uses a Nazi salute during a School Board meeting is unfit for public service. There is no justification for this behavior,” the union wrote.
Boardmember Stephanie Simacek, in a statement, said “this is what antisemitism looks like when people get comfortable” and called for an “immediate censure.”
“I am calling for accountability. And I am calling on every parent, educator, and elected official Republican or Democrat — to stand up and say clearly: THIS HAS NO PLACE HERE,” she wrote in the statement.
Simacek is also a house member in the Arizona State Legislature and is running for a state senate seat.
She wrote, “What happened in that room was not a joke.”
The school district “does not condone, support, or endorse gestures or language associated with hate, discrimination, intimidation, or violence in any form,” said Kayla Pologa, a spokesperson for Deer Valley, in a written statement.
“As an elected official, Mrs. Fisher speaks and acts independently,” Pologa wrote.
She said Fisher’s views don’t reflect nor should be attributed to other board members or members of the school district.
Who is Kimberly Fisher?
Fisher has been a Deer Valley School District parent for 24 years, according to her biography on the district’s website. She had two children graduate from the district and her third is being homeschooled in his final year, her biography states.
She had previously served on the board from 2015 to 2018.
In 2017, Fisher was the school board president and was criticized for a social media exchange with a teacher.
She was reelected in 2020. Fisher’s current term ends in 2028.
Former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, the Republican candidate for Congressional District 5, is facing new criticism following a recent report published by The Arizona Republic.
What we know:
The article cites unidentified sources who allege Lamb engaged in racist and homophobic text exchanges and sent inappropriate and threatening messages to women.
There are a few things working in Lamb’s favor, which are his name recognition combined with an endorsement from President Donald Trump.
Big picture view:
Analysts said it ultimately comes down to what voters decide at the ballot box.
“People have weathered worse,” Stan Barnes said.
Barnes is a political consultant and former Republican state senator. He points to other figures, like former President Bill Clinton and current President Trump, who both faced high-profile misconduct allegations.
“The American people said, all right, but we still want to vote for him, and Mark Lamb could be in the same situation,” Barnes said.
What they’re saying:
Lamb has largely kept quiet on the issue, a strategy Barnes said can work for candidates.
“He might decide, you know what? It’s salacious, it’s unprovable,” Barnes said. “A lot of people won’t believe it, people aren’t paying attention, and name ID and Trump endorsement’s going to carry me through.”
Inquiries were made to Lamb’s campaign. They responded with a statement, saying in part: “The Arizona Republic admitted that their article was based on a 10-year-old text from a person that couldn’t be located, or might not be a real person. Not exactly what one would call quality, independent journalism.”
However, the allegations could present challenges for his path to Congress.
The other side:
“The problem for Mr. Lamb and his candidacy is that his opponent will attempt to remind voters,” Barnes said.
Lamb’s Republican opponent, Daniel Keenan, spoke out against the former sheriff following the report.
“This story only adds to a pattern of disqualifying, disgraceful, and embarrassing behavior unbecoming of a congressman,” Keenan said in part.
Dig deeper:
Noble, a political data researcher, said the accusations could hurt Lamb with moderate voters.
“There’s really no strong candidates running in that primary because he’s cleared the field,” Mike Noble said. “It’s going to hurt him with women, it’s going to hurt him with independents, self-identified moderates, those that have a high school or less education.”
In a heavily Republican district, Noble said if the accusations gain traction, it could help the opposing party.
“It could potentially be fatal for him in the general election and actually give Democrats an opening in the general election, which normally they wouldn’t,” Noble said.
What’s next:
On the Democratic side, there are four people running in the primary for Congressional District 5. The primary election is scheduled for July 21.
The Source: This information was gathered from the article from The Arizona Republic, a political consultant and Lamb’s campaign.
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