Arizona volleyball: Wildcats upset No. 9 Michigan State, advance to the Sweet 16 for first time since 2005

The Wildcats beat the Spartans five sets to advance to their eighth Sweet 16 in program history

The Arizona volleyball team is headed to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2005.

The Wildcats upset No. 9 overall seed Michigan State in five sets Saturday on the Spartans’ home floor in East Lansing, Michigan.

All-Pac-12 player Kalei Mau led the Wildcats with 23 kills, while Kendra Dahlke had 22 kills and a team-high 16 digs.

Pac-12 Setter of the Year Penina Snuka had 57 assists and 15 assists.

Up 2-1, the Wildcats fell behind in the fourth set 13-9, but stormed back to take a 15-14 lead. The Spartans countered with a 3-0 run to re-take a 17-15 lead, but then Arizona tied it at 17.

The Wildcats eventually took a 24-23 advantage, needing one final point to punch their ticket to the Sweet 16, but the Spartans came back to win the set 26-24, setting up a decisive fifth set.

Arizona got off to a quick 6-1 start in the final set, but Michigan State cut the deficit to 10-8, forcing the Wildcats to take a timeout.

After the timeout, the Wildcats finished on a 5-2 run to cap off the victory and clinch Arizona’s eighth Sweet 16 appearance in program history.

.@ArizonaVBall is headed to the Sweet 16! http://pic.twitter.com/AvqwERNzOn

— Ryan Kelapire (@RKelapire) December 4, 2016

Michigan State won the first set 25-17, but Arizona won sets two and three 25-16 and 25-19.

The Wildcats had a dominant .538 hit percentage in the second set.

Arizona will play the winner of Kentucky/No. 8 Washington in the Sweet 16 on either Dec. 9 or Dec. 10.

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