Arkansas Opens Season with Sweep
The Razorbacks opened the fall 2021 volleyball season in commanding fashion on Friday as they swept Arkansas-Pine Bluff 3-0 in the team’s first match of the Arkansas Classic.
Arkansas kept building in every round of the evening and finished with set victories of 25-19, 25-16 and 25-11 at Barnhill Arena.
“I think it got away from us at times, but I’m really pleased that we settled in and played some really good volleyball there at the end,” head coach Jason Watson said. “The challenge for us is to be able to do that longer.”
The Razorbacks were especially efficient on the service line Friday and tallied nine aces total.
Junior Maggie Cartwright racked up four, while senior Ellease Crumpton added three. The duo was strong in all areas of the game as Cartwright led the team in total blocks with four, while Crumpton posted a second-best two. They also came in second and third in kills: Crumpton with nine and Cartwright with eight.
While the end result was a success, the match started out as a bit of a challenge for the home team. Arkansas-Pine Bluff quickly took a 2-0 lead in the first set, and the teams volleyed points back and forth constantly until a kill from Ellease Crumpton pulled Arkansas to a 14-13 lead and began a 3-0 run. While Pine Bluff stayed close, a kill from graduate transfer Abigail Archibong and a kill and ace from Cartwright allowed the Razorbacks to pull away. Back-to-back errors from the Lady Lions closed the door and Arkansas emerged with the 25-19 victory.
The Razorbacks were plagued by errors early in the middle frame and headed to a timeout down 8-2. Arkansas answered with three straight points, featuring kills from Cartwright and junior Taylor Head and an ace from Crumpton, which prompted Pine-Bluff to take its own timeout up 10-6. The momentum shifted, and the Razorbacks added two kills from Head and another ace by Cartwright and led 13-11. From there, Cartwright added another two aces, and there was no slowing down for Arkansas. A kill from Head closed the second set out, 25-16 in favor of the home team.
The final set started close, but the Razorbacks gained some steam thanks to a kill from Head, Crumpton’s third ace of the night and Lions errors. Arkansas-Pine Bluff took a timeout as Arkansas led 9-4. Archibong laid down a big kill to extend the advantage to 12-5, and it was all Razorbacks from there. Arkansas added two more aces, from freshman Courtney Jackson and senior Gracie Ryan and the lead ballooned to as much as 21-8. Pine Bluff added three more points, but Taylor Head again shut things down for the 25-11 Razorback win.
Arkansas continues action in the Arkansas Classic on Saturday with two matches. Pine Bluff and Little Rock start the day off with a 10 a.m. tilt, and Arkansas follows with Louisiana Tech at noon. The teams return to play at 5 p.m. with Pine Bluff and Louisiana Tech and Arkansas and Little Rock at 7 p.m.
Both individual and season tickets are still available. Fans can purchase them HERE or by calling the Razorback Ticket Center at 479.575.5151.
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