NIVC Round Three, UNLV Up Next for Hogs
Arkansas volleyball continues its first postseason run in eight years with the third round of the Women’s National Invitational Volleyball Championship on Tuesday.
The Razorbacks will face off with the UNLV Rebels in El Paso, Texas at 6 p.m. looking for a spot in the NIVC semis. Host UTEP will take on Weber State in the other quarterfinal match later that night at 8:30.
The Rebels are coming off a close match in the second round, in which they won the first two sets over Arizona but saw a comeback effort from the Wildcats in the third and fourth. UNLV then spoiled the reverse sweep attempt with a commanding 15-9 fifth set victory.
UNLV finished the regular season with a 23-9 overall record and went 12-6 in Mountain West action. The Rebels fell just short of a Mountain West tournament crown as they were defeated 3-1 by No. 6 seed Boise State in the championship.
The only common opponent between the Hogs and the Rebels in the regular season was Mountain West Utah State. Arkansas defeated the Aggies in five sets on Sept. 3, and UNLV played them twice in conference play. Utah State took the first outing 3-2, but the Rebels swept them in a rematch two weeks later for a 1-1 series tie.
The two teams have met just one other time in program history, a 3-0 sweep for Arkansas on Sept. 16, 2005.
The match will be streamed via UTEP’s MinerTV website and live stats will be provided.
Last Time Out
After receiving a first-round bye in the NIVC, Arkansas made quick work of its second round opponent, Stephen F. Austin, and swept the Ladyjacks with set scores of 25-18, 25-17 and 25-18.
Junior Jill Gillen led the Razorbacks with her eighth double-double of the season on 15 kills and 11 digs. Sophomore Taylor Head contributed eight kills on15 swings with no errors for a team-high .533 hitting percentage and also had two aces.
The victory marked the first postseason match win for Arkansas since their 2005 sweep over St. Mary’s in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Hogs are now 20-10 on the year, the most wins for the program since 2012.
Up Next
Teams who advance to the NIVC semifinals will play those matches Dec. 8-11 in sites to be announced. The championship is scheduled for a tentative date and location between Dec. 12 and Dec. 14.
