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Arizona Beat Grand Canyon, and Then the Lights Went Out in McKale ⚡
The Wildcats took two sets, sat on a 27-27 tie in the third, and the whole thing ended when the arena lost power.
Arizona's dress rehearsal Wednesday night in Tucson had everything a preseason wants: five new starters, a stiff opponent, and a third set headed for a tiebreaker that would have told the staff something real. Then, at 27-27, the power died at McKale Center. Match called. Two-set win for the Wildcats.
Ndam-Simpson Announced Herself
Freshman Destiny Ndam-Simpson led all scorers, five kills on .500 hitting in the first set and four more in the second. Preseason All-Big 12 pick Carlie Cisneros went four, four and four across the three sets. Middle Journey Tucker was on both of Arizona's first-set blocks.
First-set hitting: Arizona .350, Grand Canyon .073. Read that however you want. The Wildcats out-athleticized a team that was in the NCAA bracket in March.
Set Three Was the One That Mattered
Grand Canyon adjusted, tightened the seams and pushed the third to 27-27. That is the set where a staff finds out whether a new rotation holds under real pressure, and whether Marina Vosloo, who had three blocks in it, is a genuine net presence.
The lights answered instead.
Next Up: New Mexico, Then a Real Opener
Arizona buses to Albuquerque on Saturday for one more exhibition against New Mexico at noon Mountain, then opens for real at the Wildcat Classic on the 28th against Prairie View A&M.
This is not a top-25 team. The freshman class spent one Wednesday making the case it should be watched anyway, right up until the building stopped cooperating.
