Volleyball season was supposed to go differently for both the Arizona Wildcats (12-10, 2-8) and the Oregon Ducks (6-13, 2-8). Both teams ended 2018 ranked and came into 2019 the same way. Oregon would even climb into the top 10 in the early going. Things went downhill from there.
Their mirrored seasons extended into this weekend. Both the Wildcats and the Ducks entered Sunday’s early-afternoon match off five-set losses where they let their opponents come back from two-set deficits.
Who was going to get out of McKale Center with some measure of redemption?
For both teams, redemption laid largely in the hands of their star middle blockers.