Arkansas falls in three games at Mississippi State

Jump to Mississippi State box STARKVILLE, Miss. – The University of Arkansas volleyball team’s woes continued Friday with a three-game Southeastern Conference loss at Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss., Friday. The loss drops Arkansas to 6-7 on the year and 0-3 in the SEC while State improved to 6-7 overall and 1-3 in the 30-25, 33-31, 32-30 win. Arkansas’ Jessica Dorrell paced the Lady Razorbacks with a team-best 15 kills. She was the lone player in double-figures for the match. Dorrell also became the 12th player in school history to record her career 1,000th kill in Friday’s match. Junior Christina Lawrence added eight kills and hit .381 while sophomore Kristin Seaton added six kills. Sophomore Catherine Folwer led Arkansas with four blocks as the Lady’Backs out-blocked Mississippi State 10-1 in the loss. Freshman Sarah Freudenrich hit a team-high .417 with five kills and two blocks for Arkansas. State put together a balanced attack that included 10 kills from senior setter Eva Kriegel. They had four players in double-digits paced by 16 from Crisitna Jucan. The match was a back-and-forth affair from the opening serve featuring 38 tie scores and 14 lead changes as neither team really maintained the momentum. Arkansas’ unforced errors would come at in-opportune times late in the games and often proved to be the difference-maker. The Lady’Backs committed 11 hitting errors, 11 service errors, three blocking errors and five ball handling errors in the loss. Arkansas had opportunities in all three games but none bigger than the three-point margin held late in the third, must-win game. Leading 25-22, State burned a timeout and then scored out of the break on an Arkansas hitting error. The exchange continued until a tie at 30-all was broken by another Arkansas error followed by a kill from the home team. The MSU victory is just the second in Arkansas’ 14-year history of volleyball for the Bulldogs. MSU defeated the Lady Razorbacks in three games in Starkville, Miss., in the final road series last year. The loss is also the sixth consecutive loss for Arkansas becoming the longest losing streak in program history. Arkansas’ first SEC road trip of the season continues Sunday as the Lady Razorbacks travel to Alabama for a 1:30 p.m. central match with the Crimson Tide. The match can be heard in the Northwest Arkansas area on KXUA, 88.3 FM or on-line at LADYBACKS.COM. The Lady’Backs return to the friendly confines of Barnhill Arena Friday, Oct. 5, hosting the Georgia Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. Tickets for the match can be purchased by calling 57-LBACK or logging on to LADYBACKS.COM.