Razorback Volleyball Secures 3-2 Win Over NC State
ATHENS, Ga. – The University of Arkansas volleyball team (6-6) closed out the 2019 SEC/ACC Challenge with a five-set win against North Carolina State on Friday afternoon as freshman Jillian Gillen recorded the first 20-20 performance since 2017 (21 kills, 20 digs).
Hog Highlights
- Jillian Gillen | 21 kills | 20 digs | .326 clip
- Fourth double-double of the season
- First freshman with 20-20 kills and digs since 2009
- Maggie Cartwright | 20 kills | 12 digs | .298 clip
- Third double-double of the season
- Season high kills, digs and hitting percentage
- 41 reception attempts, zero reception errors
- Ellease Crumpton | 7 blocks | 7 kills | .417 clip
The Turning Point
After taking a 2-0 match lead, Arkansas found itself going toe-to-toe with NC State and mid-way through the third set, the two teams were tied at 16 points apiece after a Wolfpack scoring rally. The Pack went on to take an 18-17 lead and never relinquished the lead to make it 2-1 Arkansas, in the contest. The fourth set was closer down the stretch, but NC State managed to tie the match at 2-2 despite Arkansas out blocking the Pack, five to two.
Arkansas bounced back in the fifth set and used four unanswered points to take a 7-4 lead, a kill by Cartwright gave the Hogs the three-point advantage and NC State called for a timeout. The Razorbacks never let off the gas pedal and closed out the match with a kill by Gillen and a key service ace by Lauren Evans to secure the 15-10 fifth-set win.
From Coach Jason Watson
“The challenge after last night was for our team to ‘flip the script’ and take care of our side of the net – playing clean for a long period of time. NC State challenged us and pushed us all night. I am proud of the way we continued to compete, learn and focus on ways to upgrade our process”
From Maggie Cartwright
“Last week was a rough week for me mentally, but meetings with Coach Macey [Donathan] and constant feedback from my teammates helped going into this weekend. Coach Watson was a huge help in my mental process, he was always there to remind me to stay in my eyes. Coach Watson was also there to build my confidence with extra reps before and after practice! It feels good to get back to playing my game and I’m excited to see how we carry this win into next week as we start SEC play.”
Up Next
Arkansas will return to Fayetteville before hitting the road again, headed south to Baton Rouge, La. to kick off conference play at LSU on Sept. 25. The Hogs will visit Alabama in Tuscaloosa on the 29th before returning home to Barnhill for their SEC home opener against Texas A&M on Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. (CT).
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