Arizona started its season 11-0 and finished it off going 11-0 with an NIVC championship, won in thrilling fashion in five sets over Bowling Green on Tuesday night.
The Wildcats (24-9) overcame a 2-1 deficit in sets and beat the Falcons 27-29, 25-23, 18-25, 25-17 and 15-9 in front of 2,696 at McKale Center.
“We put ourselves in a position that we’re a force to be reckoned with,” said Arizona coach Charita Stubbs, in her second season as head coach at her alma mater. “They (the players) have an understanding of how long they have to be here, what it feels like to be here and actually compete.
“And it helped our crowd, and Tucson in general, so that they can come out and support us more.”
ARIZONA is the NIVC champions
Beat Bowling Green in five sets, winning the last one 15-9.
Wildcats end season with 11 straight wins.
Amazing. pic.twitter.com/OvIXBbO84t— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) December 18, 2024
Jaelyn Hodge, a fifth-year senior who stuck it out with an extra season from the COVID-19 year of 2020-21, took over in the fifth set with four kills, two blocks and an ace.
After a Carlie Cisneros block put Arizona in match and set point, Bowling Green scored twice on a kill by Mia Tyler and an attack error by the Wildcats.
The Wildcats finally finished it following an attack error by Tyler.
“I actually enjoyed it,” Stubbs said about the match taking five sets to win. “I didn’t necessarily want to go five, but was prepared to go five and because I think when you get a crowd in the gym like that, .it was nice that it went on in the sense that it became something that (the fans) could be a part of.”
Jordan Wilson, a junior who is a transfer from USC, and Avery Scoggins, a freshman standout like Cisneros, made the all-tournament team while Hodge — who had 25 kills against Bowling Green — was selected the Most Valuable Player.
“So many ups and downs throughout my five years here, but I’m glad I ended with this group and ended the way we did,” said Hodge, who announced during the postgame press conference that she has signed a professional contract to play in Puerto Rico.
“It feels different than any other year. We were so bought in together, a family. All year long, we were holding each other accountable, making sure we were in the gym doing what we should’ve been doing. I love these girls. There’s a different type of bond this year.”
That sense of unity and confidence came from Stubbs, whose team made a 16-win improvement over last year when she finished 8-23 in her first season as head coach following the retirement of her former coach and mentor David Rubio.
Last season was similar to her four years as head coach at North Carolina State, where she was 22-111 from 2006 to 2009.
Her brother Charles passed away in May and left a lasting impression on her, especially since they had a remarkable bond growing up without parents — their dad was murdered when Charita was 10, and the mom had a troubled life as a drug user before passing away.
Stubbs was not as rigid this year. She had a cool, confident way about her because of a discussion she had with her brother before he passed away.
“Honestly, because I sucked last year,” Stubbs said when asked about the change. “I didn’t let my coaches do what they needed to do. I was headed down the path that I did at N.C. State where I thought I could do it all by myself.
“It was like, ‘Just pump the brakes, ma’am, no.’ That was one of the messages my brother shared with me before he died was that I had to be me.”
Scoggins showed that unflappable mannerism from her coach, ending her freshman season with 54 assists against Bowling Green.
Journey Tucker, a sophomore, recorded a team-high eight blocks.
Wilson finished with 18 kills.
It was the first postseason championship won by Arizona’s volleyball program.
The Wildcats reached the Final Four in 2001 under Rubio, who coached Stubbs, a middle blocker, with the Wildcats from 1990 to 1994.
Stubbs, similar to Adia Barnes, has the honor of leading her alma mater to a postseason title won at McKale Center.
Barnes led the Wildcats’ basketball program to a WNIT championship in 2018-19 over Northwestern. Two seasons, later Arizona advanced to the NCAA championship game against Stanford.
“The teams that have won the NIVC the previous year have gone on to the NCAA tournament,” Stubbs said. “That is our goal. We have to take it one step at a time but the parallel (with the women’s hoops program) is there for sure.”
Whereas Barnes had Aari McDonald as a sophomore standout in the win over Northwestern for the WNIT title, Stubbs has two young talents in Cisneros and Scoggins to count on going forward.
“They’re the type of players people want to play around,” Stubbs said.
Forever grateful for this team and season! Thanks for the support, we love you Wildcat Nation #BearDown https://t.co/t8GLdw5wIX
— Carlie Cisneros (@CisnerosCarlie) December 18, 2024
Bowling Green (25-10) entered the match 0-4 against Power 4 schools, losing twice to Ohio State and also to Cincinnati and Illinois. The Falcons were 1-12 in the sets of those matches.
They matched that set win total in the first frame against Arizona.
Arizona squandered an 18-12 lead in the first set, allowing Bowling Green to rally for a 21-20 behind a the play of Amanda Otten at the net (including two kills in that stretch).
Arizona had set point at 24-23 but a Lauren Hovey kill tied it for Bowling Green.
The Wildcats again had set point, leading 25-24 but the Falcons tied it again on a Jessica Andrews kill.
A kill by Tyler followed by an ace by Otten gave Bowling Green a 29-27 win in the first set.
NIVC CHAMPIONS:
Arizona rallies to beat Bowling Green in five sets to claim NIVC championship, complete magical 11-0 end to the regular season.
Early recap -https://allsportstucson.com/2024/12/17/arizona-rallies-to-beat-bowling-green-in-five-sets-to-claim-nivc-championship/
Arizona lost the first set twice in its winning streak entering Tuesday — against UCF at McKale and at Texas Tech — and rallied to win each match in five sets.
The Wildcats again were pushed to the brink in the second set after allowing a 17-9 to slip away.
They recovered after the Falcons outscored Arizona 4-1 to tie the match at 23.
A kill by Tucker gave Arizona set point. An attack error by Tyler resulted in a 25-23 win for the Wildcats.
Bowling Green took a 5-1 lead in the third set and led throughout.
Arizona cut the lead to 13-12 but the Falcons scored six straight points, taking advantage of three attack errors by the Wildcats.
Tucker’s kill cut the lead to 23-18 but the Falcons closed the set on kills by Tyler and Hovey.
“I was nervous,” Scoggins said with smile about being down 2-1.
“I think I was more angry than nervous,” Stubbs interjected. “I felt like we should have never put ourselves in that position. I have no problem losing to a team that beats us, but we did so many things that were out of character. Just mindless errors. It was more out of frustration.”
Arizona pulled away in the fourth set, scoring five straight points to win 25-17 and force the fifth and final set.
In that run, Hodge and Wilson each had a kill and a block and Cisneros capped the set with an ace.
“Just having a team that wants me, just being in that position is just amazing,” Hodge said of her strong finish in the match. “Not selfish. I think it’s just a great, great group. Having my back, it’s amazing. And all of them coming up to me and saying, ‘This is your kill. You get this. You get this.’ So, them having my back is the best support I need.”
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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