Arkansas and Alabama Set for Weekend Series
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas volleyball team is two weeks into the second-half of the 2020-21 season and firing on all cylinders, heading into the weekend against Alabama with an 8-4 record. Match one of the two-game series between the Razorbacks and the Crimson Tide is set for Friday evening in Barnhill Arena at 7 p.m.
Arkansas split the home-and-home series with Alabama in the 2019 season. After dropping a five-set decision on the road in late September, head volleyball coach Jason Watson led his Hogs to their first win over the Crimson Tide on Nov. 17 breaking a losing streak that dated back to 2013. The Razorbacks defeated the Tide in five sets inside Barnhill Arena, 25-22, 18-25, 25-18, 22-25, 17-15.
Last Time Out
Arkansas is hosting Alabama after completing a sweep at Georgia on Friday night, winning in three sets (26-24, 25-19, 25-23). With the win, Arkansas handed Georgia its first series sweep since the non-traditional season began in the fall.
Razorbacks Rack Up SEC Weekly Awards
The Hogs had three players earn four SEC Weekly Awards after recording a hard-fought series sweep at Georgia last weekend. Junior libero Lauren Evans earned the first SEC award of her career picking up the Defensive Player of the Week award. Fellow junior Gracie Ryan was named Setter of the Week and sophomore Jillian Gillen earned Offensive Player of the Week and was chosen from all weekly award winners as the overall Player of the Week. The trio’s performances helped Arkansas defeat Georgia for the first time in Athens since 2016, it also marked the first time since 2018 that Arkansas defeated a team in straight sets on the road.
Scouting the Tide
Alabama concluded the fall portion of the 2020-21 schedule with a 2-6 record and 1-3 on the road. They are traveling to Fayetteville after sweeping a road series at Ole Miss last weekend (Feb. 5-6) in back-to-back five-setters.
After not having gone five sets in any of its first nine matches, Alabama has gone the distance in each of its last three, sporting a 2-1 record in that span. As a team, the Tide is ranked seventh in the SEC in aces (58, 1.26/set) and eighth in kills (565, 12.28/set).
Saturday’s match is slated to begin at 4 p.m. with both matches over the weekend available on SEC Network+.
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