Arkansas Opens Season at Home with No. 8 Washington

Volleyball action at Barnhill Arena begins Friday night and a top 10 opponent awaits the Hogs.

No. 8 Washington is the highest-ranked season-opening opponent for the Razorbacks since No. 2 Penn State in 2000 and the highest-ranked home opener for Arkansas in program history.

The Hogs came in at fourth in the SEC preseason poll, their best placement since 2014, and are coming off their first 20-win season in 10 years. Arkansas returns key pieces in senior outside hitter Jill Gillen, sophomore libero Courtney Jackson and graduate setter Gracie Ryan for the 2022 campaign.

Gillen was named a preseason All-SEC selection and has been an All-SEC player in each of her three seasons at Arkansas along with two AVCA All-South Region appearances.

Jackson was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team for 2021 after she led the Hogs with 3.48 digs per set, which was ninth in the SEC and first among freshmen.

Ryan blazed her way up the Arkansas record books and finished the season with 1,216 assists, which was the most since 2017 and put her at 2,913 total for fifth in Arkansas history. She also had the most double-doubles in 10 years with 17 and had 333 digs.

Arkansas also made a recruiting splash in the off-season with the addition of middle blocker Tatum Shipes from Auburn. She started every match and ranked top in the conference for total blocks (142) and blocks per set (1.42), which also came in at 21st and sixth in the country. Both metrics are new Auburn single season program records in the rally scoring era, along with the top spot in block assists with 120.

Friday’s season opener is set for Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday’s series finale is at 4 p.m. Both matches will be streamed on SEC Network+.

Adult tickets are only $5 and kids, 17 and under, get in free. Tickets can be purchased online or through the Razorback Ticket Center at (479) 575-5151. Any ticket inquiries can be addressed by phone or at raztk@uark.edu.

Scouting The Series: Washington

• This weekend’s matches will be just the third- and fourth-ever meetings between the Hogs and the Huskies, and the series is currently even at 1-1.
• The two teams haven’t met since 2004, in which Washington came away with a 3-0 victory. The first meeting resulted in a five-set victory for the Razorbacks.
• In the prior two contests, Arkansas and Washington met at neutral sites. This is the first true home/away match-up in the all-time series.
• Washington finished the 2021 season in the Sweet 16 and the Huskies won their second consecutive Pac-12 title.
• Washington returns All-Americans Claire Hoffman (OH) and Marin Grote (MB) along with three-time All-American, two-time Pac-12 Setter of the Year and Fayetteville native Ella May Powell for 2022.

More Information
Visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com for the latest information on all things Arkansas Volleyball. You can also find the Hogs on social media by liking us on Facebook (Arkansas Razorback Volleyball) and following us on Twitter and Instagram (@RazorbackVB).