Arkansas downs North Texas in season opener

Jump to box score FAYETTEVILLE – Junior Amy Allison and senior Karla Crose paced Arkansas in a 3-0 win against North Texas at the Arkansas Invitational volleyball tournament in Barnhill Arena. Allison tallied a mach-best 11 kills and hit .667 with six blocks while Crose added nine kills, hit .500 and had six blocks in the 30-24, 30-20, 30-23 season-opening win. “It’s always good to get a win,” said Arkansas head coach Chris Poole. “I’m really proud of Karla and Amy – they were both big at the net tonight. I thought we had a really balanced attack and that’s good to see early in the season.” Arkansas was solid throughout the match paced by Allison and Crose. Junior Denitza Koleva was second on the team with 10 kills while redshirt freshman Christina Lawrence added seven kills, two digs and three blocks in her debut. The Lady’Backs ran a 6-2 offense much of the match with six hitters and two setters with senior Iva Docekalova and sophomore transfer Nicole Martin sharing time on the floor. Martin finished with 18 assists in her first match as a Lady’Back while Docekalova added 17 for Arkansas. Arkansas dominated the first game out-hitting north Texas .389 to .114 and bettered the Mean Green in game two .125 to negative .075 as unforced errors stymied UNT’s offense. Both teams were solid out of the blocks with the excitement of the first match of the season contributing to the nerves. Arkansas, however, pulled away in game one at the half-way point taking a 16-9 lead and forcing a UNT timeout. The Mean Green never recovered from the deficit. The second game was only close until the 10-point mark before the Lady’Backs turned up the heat. Arkansas opened a seven-point 20-13 lead sailing to the 30-20 victory in the second frame. The Lady’Backs changed up their lineup in the third frame and North Texas was able to close the gap coming back from a four-point Arkansas lead to take a 17-16 lead of their own. The teams traded points with both making several unforced errors allowing the other to score. Brewer crushed a UNT overpass but Arkansas gave the point back on a missed serve. Dorrell answered with a thundering kill of her own firing up the crowd and teammate Crose who added a shot off the face of a Mean Green player giving Arkansas a 21-19 lead they would not surrender. In other action Belmont defeated North Texas, 3-0, while Memphis came from behind with a victory over Belmont. Tournament action continues Saturday as Arkansas hosts Belmont at noon. Memphis meets North Texas at 2:00 p.m., and play concludes with Arkansas hosting Memphis at 7:00 p.m.