Koleva Dorrell honored as Arkansas wins

Jump to Utah State box score FAYETTEVILLE – Junior Denitza Koleva made it two in a row earning all-tournament team honors leading the University of Arkansas to a 30-20, 27-30, 30-22, 23-30, 15-10 win over Utah State to conclude the C&C Services Invitational Saturday. Arkansas, 4-1 overall, used Koleva’s 17 kills, eight digs and three blocks to edge passed the Aggies who fell to 4-2 overall and were 0-2 in tournament play. Sophomore Jessica Dorrell was also selected to the all-tournament team after hitting .387 with 14 kills and three blocks against USU. Redshirt freshman Christina Lawrence finished with 11 kills and hit .333 while junior Kele Brewer added 13 kills, hit .423, had six digs and four blocks for Arkansas. Arkansas was on fire to start the match hitting .379 behind a five kill performance from Koleva. The Lady’Backs held Utah State to a negative .030 mark as the Aggies struggled to find both offense and defense. Aggressive serving by Arkansas took Utah State out of their offense although the Lady’Backs tallied just one service ace in the stat sheet. “Serving is something we’ve worked really hard and all season and it’s starting to pay off,” said Arkansas head coach Chris Poole. “We were aggressive and mixing it up well and that took them out of their offense.” The Lady’Backs seemed to dominate game two as well opening a 5-1 lead but the Aggies regrouped behind Monarisa Ale who played antenna to antenna. Arkansas got rattled and couldn’t stop their own unforced errors despite solid offensive play from Dorrell. Down by as many as seven, 20-13, Arkansas found itself facing an uphill battle but the Lady’Backs chipped away at the Aggie lead with long rallies and a never-say-die approach. The Lady’Backs managed a 5-4 run closing to 24-18 but it was enough to prompt the Aggies to burn their first timeout as they tried to put the game away. The break only energized Arkansas as they ran off seven unanswered points taking a 26-25 lead. The Aggies answered with back-to-back kills as Poole called his final timeout but a Utah State service ace was enough to crush any momentum Arkansas may have had as they dropped the frame, 30-27. The third game saw Arkansas change up the lineup, lifting junior Amy Allison for freshman Kristin Seaton after Allison had just three kills in the first two games. The lineup change didn’t slow Arkansas as they notched a 30-22 win hitting .400 with 18 kills in the stanza. Koleva put the team firmly on her shoulders with six kills a .625 hitting percentage and three service aces. The Aggies adjusted to the lineup change and Arkansas was flat in the fourth game f the first serve spotting Utah State a couple-point lead and playing catch-up for the entire game. Arkansas trailed by five, 21-16, shortly after the team’s first timeout and they were unable to recover despite several hard shots from Koleva. The Lady’Backs fell, 20-30, in the fourth game. Dorrell figured heavily into Arkansas offense in the fourth frame hitting ,375 with a team-leading four kills but the Lady’Backs were outhit .415 to .238 in the frame. Allison returned to the lineup to start the fifth and was the difference-maker in the win. Senior Iva Docekalova opened the final frame with a knuckle ball service ace and Arkansas never looked back. Allison recorded back-to-back kills and added a solo block giving the Lady’Backs a 5-2 lead as the opponent called their first timeout. Allison teamed with Dorrell for a block increasing Arkansas lead to 8-3 as the teams exchanged sides at the half-way point. Arkansas finish the game with a 7-6 run for the win. Arkansas returns to tournament play Friday and Saturday at the Results Advertising Invitational hosted by Missouri State in Springfield, Mo. For more information about Arkansas volleyball and for tickets to the next home event, call the Lady Razorback Ticket Office at 57-LBACK or log on to LADYBACKS.COM.