Volleyball Battles Until the End in Gainesville
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Arkansas volleyball team ran into a wall of blocks dropping the first of two Southeastern Conference matches, 25-16, 25-19, 25-21 at No. 8 Florida on Friday. Junior setter Gracie Ryan notched her 16th career double-double in the loss, accumulating 22 assists and 10 digs.
Hog Highlights
Jillian Gillen | 10 kills
Maggie Cartwright | 8 kills, .375 hitting percentage
Gracie Ryan | 10 digs, 22 assists
How It Happened
One of the top blocking teams in the SEC, the Gators established the wall early in the first frame. They finished the first set with a 7-1 block advantage while holding Arkansas to a .059% hitting percentage. Defensively, Florida managed to out-dig Arkansas 16-9 in the first set, as the Razorbacks continued to attack the court inside the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
Despite the Hogs’ offensive improvements from set to set, Florida’s block remained steady for the Gators. Arkansas played Florida close with back-and-forth runs in each set but mini-scoring bursts behind a serve that took Arkansas out of system lifted the Gators to the win.
Arkansas started the second and third sets staying close with Florida, leading 15-12 at the media timeout in both frames. After the break, the Gators used a block to capture the momentum and finished the middle set on a 6-0 run. Again, tied at 19 in the third set, Florida had a 6-2 run to close out the match win.
The Razorbacks spread out the attack over the course of the night, with four Hogs finishing with five or more kills. Junior Devyn Wheeler led her team with three block assists, with teammates Gillen, Cartwright, Taylor Head and Ellease Crumpton each recording at least one as well. The Gators finished the night with 13.5 team blocks holding Arkansas to a 0.141 hitting percentage on the night.
Up Next
The Razorbacks and Gators face each other again Saturday with the first serve at 5 p.m. CT. It is the final regular-season road trip for the Razorbacks. Arkansas hosts Tennessee March 13-14 and wraps up the regular season with South Carolina March 19-20, in Barnhill Arena.
Watch Arkansas at Florida Saturday: SEC Network Plus
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