Razorbacks Head to Tulsa Tournament

The Arkansas volleyball team hits the road again this weekend for a trio of matches in Tulsa, Okla.

The Hogs will place twice on Friday, at 10 a.m. against Oral Roberts, and at 7 p.m. versus host Tulsa. The team finishes the action in Oklahoma on Saturday morning with a match-up against Stephen F. Austin at noon.

All matches will be live-streamed via Tulsa’s YouTube channel, and live stats will be available.

Last Time Out

Arkansas had its first road test last weekend in Bozeman, Mont. at the Bobcat Classic. The Razorbacks came away with three wins and the tournament crown, which included two five-set victories on Thursday and Friday against Montana State and Utah State. The team then capped off its schedule with a 3-0 sweep of Portland on Saturday.

Sophomore Taylor Head was named MVP after she finished the weekend with 30 kills, 44 digs and seven blocks. She also set new career highs in digs (20), blocks (4) and aces (3) against Utah State and surpassed 300 career kills. Senior Ellease Crumpton was named to the All-Tournament team and had a career day in the team’s opening match. Against Montana State, Crumpton set a new career high in kills with 15 and attempts with 21 and matched her personal best in blocks at nine. Crumpton hit .407 over the three games and added 17 blocks. Freshman Courtney Jackson rounded out Arkansas’ All-Tournament selections. The rookie notched new career highs in assists (9) and aces (3) and played in all of the Razorbacks’ 13 sets.

Scouting the Field

Arkansas and Oral Roberts last played in 2017, and the Razorbacks lead the 20-game all-time series 12-8. The Golden Eagles are undefeated so far this season with a 6-0 record. This already surpasses the team’s wins from last season, in which they finished with a record of 3-15. Oral Roberts returned each of its top-five killers from the 2020-21 slate along with libero Sarah Thiessen and setter Bryanne Soares.

The Razorbacks have faced the Tulsa Hurricane nine times since 1995 and hold an 8-1 advantage with an unblemished 4-0 road record. Tulsa is early into its 2021 season as the team’s first three matches were canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. Last weekend, the team went 2-1 at the Maverick Classic in Arlington, Texas with matches against Sam Houston, UT Arlington and North Texas. The Hurricane are led by a group of upperclassmen on offense and defense and rookie libero Marta Pecalli leads the team in digs so far with 62.

Arkansas has a perfect 5-0 history against Stephen F. Austin, and the Razorbacks won in straight sets the last time the two met in 2014. The Lady Jacks are currently 3-2 after they won their own SFA Tournament last weekend 2-0. The young squad features 13 underclassmen. Sophomore Ielan Bradley leading with the team in kills with 54, sophomore setter Maddy Bourque has 103 assists and freshman defensive specialist Alyssa Ortega has 88 digs.

Up Next

The Razorbacks finish a long road streak next week at the ACC/SEC Challenge in Raleigh, N.C.  Arkansas takes on Georgia Tech on Thursday, Sept. 16 at 3 p.m. and NC State on Friday at 6 p.m. Arkansas then opens SEC play at home with a match against LSU on Sept. 22 at 7 p.m.