Arizona

Arizona volleyball to host Bowling Green in NIVC championship match

Published

11 months ago

December 15, 2024

Arizona volleyball to host Bowling Green in NIVC championship match

Arizona head coach Rita Stubbs has said a few times that winning the NIVC would prove that the Wildcats are the “65th best team” in Division I volleyball. The Wildcats are arguably better than several teams that got into the NCAA Tournament, including some at-large teams that were taken over them, but her point is well taken. If a team doesn’t win its league or impress the selection committee enough, it doesn’t have the chance to prove that it’s better than those teams.

It can still win a championship, though. And that’s just what the Wildcats will try to do.

Arizona (23-9, 9-9 Big 12) will host Bowling Green (25-9, 16-2 MAC) in the NIVC tournament title game on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 6 p.m. MST in McKale Center. The match will stream on ESPN+.

The Wildcats got a first-round bye in the tourney before defeating the Pacific Tigers, the Wyoming Cowgirls, and the Northern Colorado Bears. They dropped just one set, losing the third set of their match against the Bears in the Fab 4.

The three teams UA faced were ranked No. 128, No. 107, and No. 68 in RPI before the tournament. They will now take on the 85th-ranked Falcons.

BGSU and Arizona have one common opponent in Big 12 team Cincinnati. The Wildcats defeated UC 3-1 in Cincinnati. The Bearcats defeated BGSU 3-0 in Bowling Green.

The Falcons’ only ranked opponent this season was No. 22 Dayton. The Flyers defeated BGSU in straight sets. Arizona went 2-8 against teams that were ranked at the time of the match and 2-9 against teams that were ranked at some point over the season.

BGSU’s other major conference opponents were Big Ten teams Ohio State and Illinois. It lost in straight sets to the Illini. It lost both matches in a home-and-home played against the Buckeyes. OSU swept the Falcons at home and beat them 3-1 in Bowling Green.

Once hitting the NIVC, BGSU has been resilient. It beat Binghamton and Wright State 3-1 at home. In both cases, the opponent won the first set 25-18 before the Falcons came back to win three straight.

BGSU then went on the road to play DePaul. Once again, it won 3-1. The Falcons dominated the Blue Demons in the first two sets before dropping the third. They regrouped to easily win the fourth.

The Fab 4 was even more difficult for the Falcons. They fell behind St. John’s 0-2 in Queens, N.Y. They narrowly defeated the Red Storm in the third before blowing them out in the fourth and taking a close fifth on the way to a reverse sweep.

Lead photo by Mike Christy / Arizona Athletics

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Arizona

Arizona-based Hickman’s Family Farms set to be acquired by Brazilian company

Published

1 hour ago

November 16, 2025

Press Room

Arizona-based Hickman’s Family Farms set to be acquired by Brazilian company

GREELEY, CO (AZFamily) — Mantiqueira USA announced Friday it has entered an agreement to acquire Hickman’s Egg Ranch, an egg producer headquartered in Arizona.

Hickman’s has over five locations across Arizona. The company also has locations in California, Colorado, and Nevada.

The Arizona egg farm took a huge hit after losing most of its chickens to bird flu earlier this year. About six million birds were lost. Glenn Hickman, president and CEO of Hickman’s Egg Ranch, says it was the first time in 81 years that the company had been unable to fulfill 100% of customer demands.

Hickman said this new transition will bring opportunities to customers, employees and partners.

The acquisition marks MTQ USA’s formal entry into the U.S. market. The company is a spin-off from Mantiqueira Brasil.

“Expanding into the United States has long been a vision for our family, and taking this step through the acquisition of Hickman’s makes this moment especially meaningful,” said Leandro Pinto, founder of Mantiqueira. “Hickman’s is a respected leader with a legacy of quality and service.”

The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year.

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Arizona

What Gonzaga’s Mark Few said after tough win over Arizona State

Published

20 hours ago

November 15, 2025

Press Room

What Gonzaga’s Mark Few said after tough win over Arizona State

Friday didn’t feature the cleanest 40 minutes Gonzaga has put together over the first two weeks of the college basketball season.

Though despite an abnormal amount of turnovers, defensive lapses and woeful shooting stretches, the Bulldogs remained level-headed down the stretch to leave Desert Financial Arena with a 77-65 victory over Arizona State.

A combined 58 free throw attempts, 44 foul calls and a pair of technical fouls between the future and former Pac-12 schools underscored the chaotic nature of the late-night tilt, creating quite the environment for the Bulldogs’ first true road test of the 2025-26 campaign.

After having its 14-point lead chopped down to five midway through the second half, Gonzaga took advantage of a pair of technical fouls assessed against the Sun Devils, including one on head coach Dan Hurley, to pull away late and advance to 4-0 on the season.

Here’s what Mark Few had say about his team’s performance after the game.

“I think we just kind of hung in there. I thought we had some really good performances by several of our guys, but it was kind of like in spurts, and then in some instances, a good first half out of somebody, and then not so good the second half.”

“Like I told them afterwards, anytime we can win a game like this, and maybe not feel like we played perfect; as long as we learn from it, that was a really, really good chance to learn. So we got to watch a lot of stuff.”

“Obviously, their quickness and athleticism and what they were doing had a lot to do with it. But these guys stepped up. [Ike] made big plays in both halves. I thought Tyon really got in there and really helped us, especially in that first half, really made a difference.”

“We were struggling on the offensive end. Too many turnovers for us, and too many kind of little defensive breakdowns there that we’ve been doing a good job and not having quite as many of those.”

“That’s so hard to do. He had missed some shots early, and I know he was down on himself, wasn’t feeling good. And I think that just shows incredible mental toughness … when it’s not going good, to flip the switch and come back and make plays and those shots were huge. It kind of gave us a cushion to kind of get us through there at the end, so I was proud of him.

“That was a kind of a hostile environment and kind of a crazy game, but our guys just made enough plays to win.”

“I mean, it’s hard to put your finger on it. Sometimes it’s been a little bit of a defensive problem. Sometimes it’s been a little bit of an offensive problem.”

“You’re not going to blow somebody out in the first 4 minutes. We’re establishing a rhythm, trying to figure out how they’re covering us, and if our coverages are working, and how they’re attacking that. So a lot of times it’s just a little bit of a feeling-out process.”

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Arizona

Republicans’ chances of defeating Katie Hobbs in Arizona governor race—Poll

Published

2 days ago

November 14, 2025

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Republicans’ chances of defeating Katie Hobbs in Arizona governor race—Poll

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, is in for a close race against Republican challengers in the 2026 midterm elections, according to a new poll.

Newsweek reached out to Hobbs and the Republican candidates’ campaigns for comment via email.

Why It Matters

Arizona emerged as a key swing state over the past decade, with both parties scoring statewide victories. Last November, President Donald Trump carried the state by nearly six points, but Democrat Ruben Gallego eked out a win in the Senate race, a sign of how competitive the state can still be.

Hobbs, first elected in 2022, is up for reelection next year. Democrats are optimistic about their chances in the midterms. Historically, the president’s party loses seats, and Trump’s approval remains low.

A series of Democratic victories in recent elections has also fueled hopes about a blue wave in the midterms. But forecasters still view the race as competitive for both parties, and the Emerson College poll released Friday underscores just how close it may be.

What To Know

Hobbs narrowly defeated Republican Kari Lake in 2022, a year that was generally stronger for Republicans. Prior to the election, Hobbs served as Arizona’s secretary of state and as a state legislator starting in 2011.

Several Republicans are vying to challenge her, including Arizona Representatives Andy Biggs and David Schweikert, as well as attorney Karrin Taylor Robson. Trump has endorsed both Biggs and Robson.

The Emerson poll showed Hobbs with a slight lead over each of the Republican candidates.

She held a single-point lead over Biggs (44 percent to 43 percent) and Robson (43 percent to 42 percent), and a five-point lead over Schweikert (44 percent to 39 percent), according to the poll. It surveyed 850 registered voters from November 8 to 10 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.

Biggs held a lead in the primary, with 50 percent of respondents saying they would vote for him. Meanwhile, Robson and Schweikert held 17 percent and 8 percent support, respectively, in the primary, the poll found.

Other polls have also painted a picture of a close race. A Noble Predictive Insights poll, which surveyed 948 registered voters from August 11 to 18, showed Hobbs with a two-point lead over both Biggs (39 percent to 37 percent) and Robson (40 percent to 38 percent). It had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

In 2022, Hobbs defeated Lake by less than a single percentage point (50.3 percent to 49.7 percent) in what was one of the closest races across the country. Arizona was also one of the closest states at the presidential level in 2020—former President Joe Biden carried it by less than half a percentage point.

In 2024, however, Trump gained back ground in the state, winning 52.2 percent of the vote to former Vice President Kamala Harris’ 46.7 percent.

What People Are Saying

Spencer Kimball, director of the Emerson College poll, wrote in a report: “In a matchup between Hobbs and Biggs, voters who say the economy is their top issue break for Hobbs, 45% to 41%, while those who find immigration to be the top issue break for Biggs, 81% to 6%.”

President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social in April: “I like Karrin Taylor Robson of Arizona a lot, and when she asked me to Endorse her, with nobody else running, I Endorsed her, and was happy to do so.

“When Andy Biggs decided to run for Governor, quite unexpectedly, I had a problem — Two fantastic candidates, two terrific people, two wonderful champions, and it is therefore my Great Honor TO GIVE MY COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT TO BOTH. Either one will never let you down. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

What Happens Next

The Arizona race is likely to become closely watched—and expensive—as both parties try to win over voters over the coming year. Sabato’s Crystal Ball classifies the race as a pure toss-up.

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