Arizona

Serve receive dooms Arizona volleyball in straight-set loss to Utah

Published

1 year ago

October 4, 2024

Serve receive dooms Arizona volleyball in straight-set loss to Utah

Call it a letdown. Call it an unusual start time. Or just call it a poor outing. If Arizona volleyball had a great start against No. 20 BYU on Wednesday night, it was just as slow on early Friday afternoon. Utah dominated almost every facet of the game in a 3-0 (25-13, 25-23, 27-25) victory.

The loss may have been a letdown after the thrilling win over a ranked opponent less than 48 hours before, but Arizona head coach Rita Stubbs had one message for her team after it was over.

“That we were still a family, that we were still one, and we’re all in this all together,” she said.

The noon start time was to accommodate Arizona men’s basketball’s Red-Blue game on Friday evening. The Wildcats invited local kids to the match for their first kids’ day.

The crowd eventually filled McKale Center to its usual degree, but it took a while for everyone to straggle in. The full crowd wasn’t in their seats until about 30 minutes after the match started.

Maybe that was for the best. Arizona played Utah close until 14-13 in the opening set, although the Wildcats struggled on the attack throughout the first. They didn’t score again and ended the set with just five kills. The Utes went on an 11-0 run to take the 1-0 lead in the match.

“They had a scouting report against us, and they came out and did it,” Stubbs said. “And we tried to hit around the block too often. They made sure that our middles did not get good swinging opportunities.”

The Utes’ domination wasn’t just in the first set. While Arizona made it close in the 25-23 second set, the stats were wildly in Utah’s favor throughout the match. The Wildcats did get two set points in the final set, but they couldn’t convert. Utah put away its first match point.

The Utes were superior in almost every statistical category. They had 50 kills to the Wildcats’ 38. They hit .364 compared to UA’s .259. They had 11 aces versus four for the home team. Their 53 digs outpaced Arizona’s 42. The lone category the Wildcats won was blocks with 7.0 compared to 4.0, but they also had more blocking errors (2 to 0).

All of that played into the loss, but serve receive was the Wildcats’ biggest problem.

“It was bad,” Stubbs said. “There’s no ‘kinda’ about it.”

Both freshman outside hitter Carlie Cisneros and freshman libero Brenna Ginder struggled in serve receive. Arizona was aced 11 times. Cisneros took five of the receiving errors and both Ginder and defensive specialist Haven Wray took two.

“That was the first time we’ve seen Carlie struggle in serve receive, and that’s her thing, so what was her mindset?” Stubbs said. “Unfortunately, we never know how she’s going to handle or adapt to something that you’ve never seen. So, there was no blame to be placed in any particular area but the serve and pass game we lost.”

Fifth-year opposite Jaelyn Hodge tried to find ways to help her rookie teammate through it.

“I think just taking more court in the back row—she’s fine on defense—and just helping take more serve receive and telling her what shots are open,” Hodge said. “I know if you struggle in one thing, it kind of leaves your mind struggling in different areas.”

While the other two pins continued to struggle scoring after the opening set, Hodge got things going as the match progressed. She had her second straight great match and the third quality outing in the last four. She finished with 18 kills on .400 hitting. She also had a block assist and an ace for 19.5 points.

“Pleased with Jae,” Stubbs said. “She took the team and she said, ‘I’m gonna take the team and put them on my back and then carry them.’ She was 18 (kills) four (errors) for 35 (attempts), and it was two matches back to back where she played top-notch volleyball so very happy with her.”

If there was anything Hodge struggled with it was serving. While she had the ace, she also had two service errors. Late in the match, Stubbs began sending defensive specialist Giorgia Mandotti in to serve for Hodge.

It was nothing specific to Hodge, though. As a team, the Wildcats didn’t serve as strong as Stubbs would have wanted. It reminded her of the Baylor match in that regard.

“I don’t know that it was the (Utah) offense as much as the fact that we did not serve very tough so they were able to run whatever they wanted to run,” Stubbs said. “That is the second match that’s very vivid in my head that they’ve been able to just run the middle at us because we didn’t serve very well. So any time a team can run the middle as easily as they were in the middle, it means you didn’t serve well.”

Stubbs tried personnel changes to get Arizona on the right track, including using Mandotti to serve. Late in the first set, she played two defensive specialists and the libero in the back row, removing both Hodge and Wilson from the match. In the second set, she sent junior setter Ana Heath in for freshman Avery Scoggins, but she had to go back to Scoggins in the final set when Heath got hurt.

“Hopefully she’s all right,” Stubbs said. “She hurt her ankle a little bit, but nonetheless, it was nice to see that you can pull someone off the bench, and go in and make a difference out there…She probably would have stayed out there had she not hurt her ankle.”

If Heath is out for any length of time, she would join backup OH/OPP Sydnie Vanek and DS Ava Tortorello both of whom have been out for a few weeks. Stubbs said on Tuesday that she expected Tortorello to be out for a while still, but Vanek might be back sooner.

Whoever is available will be taking on Arizona’s fifth straight opponent that is either ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA poll when they travel to play No. 15 ASU on Wednesday. Utah is the only unranked team the Wildcats have played since the Big 12 schedule started, but the Utes are receiving votes from the coaches.

Lead photo by Reagan Helfer / Arizona Athletics

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Arizona

No. 2 Arizona tops Iowa State to win outright Big 12 title

Published

6 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

No. 2 Arizona tops Iowa State to win outright Big 12 title

TUCSON, Ariz. — Jaden Bradley scored 17 points, Motiejus Krivas had 13 and No. 2 Arizona clinched the outright Big 12 regular-season title with a 73-57 win over No. 6 Iowa State on Monday night.

The Wildcats (28-2, 15-2) secured at least a share of the conference crown by using big runs in each half to beat No. 14 Kansas 84-61 on Saturday.

Arizona earned it outright by smothering Iowa State defensively to give Tommy Lloyd his 140th victory, most in NCAA history in a coach’s first five seasons.

“The Big 12 is the best basketball conference in the country,” Lloyd said while addressing the home crowd after the game, “and to win it by a couple of games, it’s pretty impressive. So take your hats off to these guys right here.”

Coming off their first home loss of the season, the Cyclones (24-6, 11-6) labored against Arizona’s physical defense, shooting 29% from the field, including 7-of-30 from 3-point range.

During his postgame news conference, Lloyd called out the narrative surrounding his team when discussing the Wildcats’ toughness and physicality.

“I think the narrative that we were soft is lazy. I mean, look at our stats, look at our analytics — we’ve always been a great rebounding team, we’ve always pounded the paint,” Lloyd said. “If you want to just be lazy and not pay attention and say we’re soft because we’re on the West Coast, be lazy, and I’d love to play against you.”

Tamin Lipsey led Iowa State with 17 points, but leading scorer Milan Momcilovic was held to five points on 2-of-8 shooting. The nation’s best 3-point shooter at 51%, Momcilovic went 1-for-5 from beyond the arc.

Neither team could make much of anything, due to good defense and poor shooting.

Iowa State shot 9-of-33 from the field and 4-of-20 from 3 in the first half.

Arizona labored most of the half as the Cyclones focused on defending the paint before the Wildcats closed on a 15-3 run to lead 37-25 at halftime.

It only got worse for Iowa State to start the second half. The Cyclones missed their first eight shots as Arizona stretched the lead to 16.

Iowa State briefly found an offensive rhythm, using a 10-1 run to pull to within 44-37, but didn’t hit a field goal for more than five minutes as Arizona stretched the lead back to 15.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Arizona

Arizona NAACP responds to ‘Simon Says’ case, calls for police accountability

Published

18 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Arizona NAACP responds to ‘Simon Says’ case, calls for police accountability

PHOENIX — The Arizona NAACP is responding to the violent arrest of Israel Devoe, a Phoenix man who was acquitted of all charges stemming from a 2024 traffic stop in which officers punched, kneed, and elbowed him.

Sarah Tyree, president of the Arizona NAACP State Conference, said the case is part of a broader and familiar pattern.

“What happened here reflects a pattern our communities know all too well. Time and again, we see policing tactics that are dangerous and deeply harmful to civilians, yet are later justified as ‘within policy’ through carefully crafted reports and the broad protections afforded under Graham v. Connor,” Tyree wrote in an emailed statement following an ABC15 investigation.

RELATED: Phoenix man to file lawsuit after dangerous game of ‘Simon Says’ with police

Phoenix police officials found all four officers involved in Devoe’s arrest to have acted within policy, records show.

After a two-day trial, jurors unanimously found Devoe not guilty on all four of the felony charges against him — including aggravated assault on officers and resisting arrest.

In her statement, Tyree said true accountability is not possible without changing state law.

“Accountability remains out of reach in Arizona because the Peace Officers’ Bill of Rights continues to insulate misconduct from meaningful oversight, too often shifting blame onto the very communities most impacted by these encounters,” she wrote. “We also encourage Arizona voters to engage their state legislators and advocate for the repeal or amendment of the Peace Officers’ Bill of Rights to ensure systems of public safety are truly accountable to the public they serve.”

Devoe’s case again highlights problems with policing in Phoenix, which has been under scrutiny following a Department of Justice investigation that found the city had a pattern and practice of using excessive force, discrimination, and weak oversight.

ABC15 is committed to finding the answers you need and holding those accountable.

Submit your news tip to Investigators@abc15.com

The push for federal oversight ended in 2025 after the Trump administration ended such efforts across the country.

Devoe’s civil attorney, Jesse Showalter, also represents Tyron McAlpin, a deaf Black man with cerebral palsy who was violently arrested by Phoenix officers in July 2024. Showalter has said both cases reflect what he described as an accepted norm of extreme violence within the Phoenix Police Department.

A Phoenix police spokesperson said the department declines to comment because Devoe is set to file a lawsuit against the city.

This digital article was produced with the assistance of AI and converted to this platform based on the broadcast story written and reported by ABC15 Chief Investigator Dave Biscobing (Dave@abc15.com). Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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Arizona

Arizona Lottery Pick 3, Fantasy 5 results for March 1, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Arizona Lottery Pick 3, Fantasy 5 results for March 1, 2026

The Arizona Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at Sunday, March 1, 2026 results for each game:

Winning Pick 3 numbers

6-4-2

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Fantasy 5 numbers

01-07-11-18-28

Check Fantasy 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Triple Twist numbers

12-17-23-31-37-42

Check Triple Twist payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news and results

What time is the Powerball drawing?

Powerball drawings are at 7:59 p.m. Arizona time on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

How much is a Powerball lottery ticket today?

In Arizona, Powerball tickets cost $2 per game, according to the Arizona Lottery.

How to play the Powerball

To play, select five numbers from 1 to 69 for the white balls, then select one number from 1 to 26 for the red Powerball.

You can choose your lucky numbers on a play slip or let the lottery terminal randomly pick your numbers.

To win, match one of the 9 Ways to Win:

5 white balls + 1 red Powerball = Grand prize.
5 white balls = $1 million.
4 white balls + 1 red Powerball = $50,000.
4 white balls = $100.
3 white balls + 1 red Powerball = $100.
3 white balls = $7.
2 white balls + 1 red Powerball = $7.
1 white ball + 1 red Powerball = $4.
1 red Powerball = $4.

There’s a chance to have your winnings increased two, three, four, five and 10 times through the Power Play for an additional $1 per play. Players can multiply non-jackpot wins up to 10 times when the jackpot is $150 million or less.

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

All Arizona Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $100 and may redeem winnings up to $599. For prizes over $599, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at Arizona Lottery offices. By mail, send a winner claim form, winning lottery ticket and a copy of a government-issued ID to P.O. Box 2913, Phoenix, AZ 85062.

To submit in person, sign the back of your ticket, fill out a winner claim form and deliver the form, along with the ticket and government-issued ID to any of these locations:

Phoenix Arizona Lottery Office: 4740 E. University Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85034, 480-921-4400. Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes of any amount.

Tucson Arizona Lottery Office: 2955 E. Grant Road, Tucson, AZ 85716, 520-628-5107. Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes of any amount.

Phoenix Sky Harbor Lottery Office: Terminal 4 Baggage Claim, 3400 E. Sky Harbor Blvd., Phoenix, AZ 85034, 480-921-4424. Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Sunday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes up to $49,999.

Kingman Arizona Lottery Office: Inside Walmart, 3396 Stockton Hill Road, Kingman, AZ 86409, 928-753-8808. Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes up to $49,999.

Check previous winning numbers and payouts at https://www.arizonalottery.com/.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by an Arizona Republic editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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