Arizona volleyball drops 5-setter to Pepperdine to go winless at Bluejay Invitational

Maria Olga Siapani (1), Brenna Ginder (3), Carlie Cisneros (12), Destiny Ndam-Simpson (18), Journey Tucker (22), Britt Carlson (10) — TUCSON, ARIZ. — Volleyball vs. Grand Canyon University at McKale Center at ALKEME Arena. Aug. 19, 2026. | Photo by Marison Bilagody / Arizona Athletics

Arizona and Pepperdine came into Sunday morning’s volleyball match hoping to get out of Omaha with one win. The more consistent team accomplished that goal. That team was Pepperdine, which walked away with the 3-2 victory (25-17, 24-26, 25-19, 22-25, 15-11).

The Wildcats started the weekend with a five-set loss to No. 10 Creighton. That outing showed their potential when playing their best. Their straight-set loss to Tulsa on Saturday showed how quickly things can go off track, although some of the sting was taken off that loss when the Golden Hurricanes beat Creighton on Sunday.

“We started well, and we finished well considering how we played yesterday,” Stubbs said. “So we just seem to continue to find a match where we take plays off, take time off, and for whatever the reason—be that a new group, be that maturity, be that inexperience. I mean, at any given time, it could be any one of those.”

As for Arizona’s Sunday, head coach Rita Stubbs felt better about it than she did about the loss to Tulsa, but there were obvious issues that need to be corrected. The team knew it would be a difficult weekend going in.

“We played better,” Stubbs said. “I mean, in terms of competing. Couldn’t score…in a couple rotations.”

She credited the improvement on Sunday to the discussion after Saturday’s loss.

“I think their head is in the right place,” Stubbs said. “Yesterday after our match, we revisited our SWOT analysis, and we had a real talk once again. You know, holding no secrets back, and it’s like, are we doing the things that we said we wanted to do, and if not, why not? You have to ask those tough questions, but for some of them, I think it’s difficult to have reality right there in front of them because it’s not what they want it to be.”

One of the players who did what she does well was Carlie Cisneros. While kills and blocks get the press, winning volleyball is built on good serving and passing. Those have always been her strengths, although she’s had some ups and downs in the early going this season. She had seven kills, but Stubbs spoke about the difference her passing made.

“She passed better today,” Stubbs said. “I think she said, ‘Okay, I’m gonna be assertive, be a good passer,’ and that showed. And I think that’s why we were able to bounce back in a couple of those situations….We spend a lot of time talking about walking in your strength. Whatever it is that you bring to the table, living in that world.”

Cisneros led the team with 45 serve receptions, more than twice as many as any other Wildcat. She also had 14 digs, which trailed only libero Brenna Ginder.

The biggest difference in the match was the Pepperdine defense. The Waves had 94 digs compared to 73 for Arizona. They also had 13.0 blocks, narrowly trailing Arizona’s 15.0. The combination was too much to overcome.

On offense, Pepperdine was simply more terminal. Arizona had 20 more attacks than the Waves, but Pepperdine had 11 more kills.

The Wildcats didn’t have many more errors. They simply couldn’t put as many of their shots down. The match finished with 27 hitting errors for Arizona and 24 for Pepperdine, but the Waves had a .333 kill percentage compared to the Wildcats’ .303.

“Their hitters were going up and taking great rips at the ball when out of system,” Stubbs said. “And I thought we were too hesitant, tentative, unsure, whichever word you want to put behind it. And clearly we put too many balls towards the libero as she had 35 digs.”

Arizona ended with two players scoring double-digit kills, but most of the team wasn’t efficient. As a group, they hit .169.

Destiny Ndam-Simpson ended with a double-double consisting of 18 kills and 10 digs, but she took 54 swings and had 12 errors for a .111 hitting percentage. She added one total block to score a team-high 18.5 points. Kennedy Osunsanmi had 11 kills and five total blocks.

Renee Jones was the only other Wildcat to get close to double-digit kills. She finished with nine, but like most of the team, she struggled with efficiency. She added six total blocks (one solo) for 13.0 points.

Journey Tucker led the Wildcats in total blocks with 10. She added five kills on .286 hitting.

The first set showed just how hot and cold Arizona can run. The set was tightly contested until the 13-13 tie. From there, the Waves went on a 12-1 run to get within two points of winning the set. Arizona saved two set points, but the deficit was too big to overcome.

The second set was a microcosm of much of the season so far. Arizona didn’t trail until Pepperdine took a 19-18 lead. The set looked like the two they let slip away from them in a three-set loss to UCSB last week, especially when Pepperdine got to set point at 24-23.

Arizona did show some improvements, though. While they fell apart in both of those sets against UCSB, this time they overcame.

A kill from Jones wiped the set point away. Two points later, another Jones kill evened the match at a set apiece.

The third set started with the two teams trading short runs, but it always seemed like Pepperdine’s runs were just a touch longer. Arizona could never get closer than one point and the Waves led wire-to-wire to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Considering the way Arizona played on Saturday, it looked all but over when Pepperdine went up by four points early in the fourth set. This time, the Wildcats chipped away to knot the set at 12-12. When they broke through to take the 13-12 lead, the Waves finally had to call time.

Pepperdine went up by three late in the set. Arizona fought back again, going on a 6-0 run to take the 23-20 lead. The two teams traded points as the Wildcats forced a fifth set.

The final tie in the fifth came at 3-3. In a 15-point set, there is very little time to respond even to short runs. Pepperdine had four 2-point runs from the 3-all tie. Arizona had just one.

Things don’t get easier next week. Arizona continues on its road trip, which will last the entire month of September. They travel to face two former Pac-12 foes at No. 15 USC.

“Our schedule is competitive,” Stubbs said. “We knew it. And for me, it’s a matter of just going out there competing every single time. Which today we did a better job, like I said, of competing, whereas I didn’t think we competed very well at all yesterday. So we just have to find different ways to compete, and there’s no let up, you know. Go to USC. We play another ranked opponent right off the bat.”

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