Volleyball Sweeps UTA for Razorback Invitational Title
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas volleyball team closed out its second-consecutive weekend with a tournament title, beating UT Arlington in three sets Saturday night at Barnhill Arena to win the Razorback Invitational. With the victory, the Razorbacks improve to 8-1 overall and have won six in a row. Pilar Victoria was named the tournament MVP, Okiana Valle earned Outstanding Libero honors while Chanell Clark-Bibbs and Liz Fortado earned a spot on the all-tournament team.
FINAL
Arkansas 3, UT Arlington 0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-18)
Attendance: 742 | Time: 1:25
Barnhill Arena | Fayetteville, Ark.
#RazorFacts
• Stat Leaders vs. UT Arlington
o Kills: 20 – Pilar Victoria
o Digs: 7 – Monica Bollinger, Kori Ortiz, Pilar Victoria
o Blocks: 2.0 (0-2) – Chanell Clark-Bibbs
Victoria registered a match-high 20 kills against UT Arlington (8-3), good for her second 20-kill performance of the season. She added seven digs and a service ace in the match. Over the course of three matches at the Razorback Invitational, she averaged 4.44 kills per set with a .306 hitting percentage and picked up 2.22 digs per set. Valle averaged 2.44 digs per set, tallied four aces and helped lead Arkansas’ service receive to set up the offense to hit .327 during the weekend.
Clark-Bibbs continued her standout play, posting 2.44 kills per set to go along with a .419 hitting percentage. Defensively, the Razorback senior averaged 1.33 blocks per set, totaled six service aces and notched a career-high eight digs in Friday’s match against Northwestern State. Fortado joined her teammate as an efficient attacker with a .412 hitting percentage and 2.11 kills per set. She also had eight total blocks in three matches.
Having built a 2-0 match lead, the Razorbacks looked to Victoria who responded with 10 of her 20 kills in the third without committing an error. Leading by just one at 15-14 in game three, Arkansas used a quick three-point run to seize control of play. Breana Jones got up for a solo block to give her team an 18-14 lead that forced UTA to call timeout. Back-to-back kills from Clark-Bibbs and Barbara Dapic set up match up, and on the next play, the two combined for a block to clinch the win.
Arkansas closes out its non-conference schedule Sept. 18-19 at the Creighton Classic in Omaha, Neb., where it is set to face No. 11 Wisconsin, Kansas State and host Creighton. The weekend marks a stretch of seven-straight matches against teams that played in last year’s NCAA Tournament. The Razorbacks’ next home match is Oct. 4 for their SEC home opener against No. 2 Florida.
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