Lady'Back volleyball returns to SEC action at Georgia Sunday

ATHENS, Ga. – The University of Arkansas volleyball team suffered a tough loss at No. 4 Florida Friday but is looking to re-group Sunday as Southeastern Conference action at Georgia. Arkansas enters the match with a 13-8 overall mark and a 6-3 record in SEC matches. The loss at Florida dropped the Lady’Backs to second place in the Western Division. Georgia enters the contest with a 2-6 league mark and a 7-11 overall record after a three-game loss to LSU on Friday. The match airs live in the Fayetteville area on KXUA, 88.3 FM and on the internet at LADYBACKS.COM, beginning at 12:30 p.m., Central. Georgia’s record is misleading however, in a season in which much of the SEC has beaten up on each other. Florida has clearly dominated play with a perfect 9-0 mark but the 10 remaining teams have struggled to distance themselves from the pack. Arkansas and Alabama both began the week tied for the lead in the West with identical 6-2 conference records but the Crimson Tide notched a mid-week win over Auburn while Arkansas lost Friday. Alabama was idle Friday but hosts Mississippi Sunday. LSU is the only other team in the West with a winning conference mark, now 6-3 after the win at Georgia. Florida leads the East and is unbeaten followed by Tennessee (6-3) who captured a three-game win over Kentucky (5-4). “The league is so good this year,” said Arkansas head coach Chris Poole. “Top to bottom, it’s the best its been in recent years and we are really going to have to play well to win at Georgia.” The Bulldogs enter the match hitting .226 as a team paced by Alexandra Oquendo who is averaging 4.11 kills per game, hitting .338 and getting 1.11 blocks per game. “Oquendo is probably the best single blocker in the conference,” said Poole. Arkansas is no slouch on the block either leading the SEC behind the play of junior Amy Allison. The Jenks, Okla., native leads the team with a .283 hitting percentage and 1.95 blocks per game as the Lady’Backs lead the SEC with 3.38 blocks per game this year. The Lady’Backs and the SEC have just crept across the mid-point of the season with seven conference matches remaining in the regular season. Arkansas returns home to host Alabama and Auburn, Oct. 28 and 30, respectively, followed by road trips to Mississippi State, Mississippi and LSU before finishing with Kentucky at home. For more information about Arkansas volleyball, please log on to LADYBACKS.COM.