Arkansas falls to No. 6 Washington in nightcap

Jump to No. 6 Washington box || Jump to No. 6 Washington play by play WICHITA, Kan. – The University of Arkansas volleyball team suffered a pair of road losses on the first day of the Green Mill Restaurant Classic hosted by Wichita State Friday. The Lady’Backs (1-4) opened the day with a 31-29, 2430, 22-30, 20-30 loss to nationally recognized Michigan State. The Spartans out-hit Arkansas but the Lady’Backs won the first game handing MSU their first game loss of the year. Arkansas dropped its second match to No. 6 Washington, 20-30, 25-30, 22-30, to end the day. “We played two great teams today,” said Arkansas head coach Chris Poole. “They took advantages of our weaknesses and we struggled to make adjustments. We committed too many unforced errors, especially in the first match, and it’s always hard to win when that happens. We’re going to regroup and learn from this experience before we take the court tomorrow.” The Lady’Backs threw everything at a very tough Washington team in the nightcap using all 12 of the players present. But the Huskies adjusted to each change out-hitting Arkansas .385 to .129 in the first game and .294 to .099 for the match. Freshman Jessica Dorrell paced Arkansas with a team-leading 11 kills and a .308 hitting percentage. Dorrell added two digs and two blocks for the Lady’Backs. Senior Jennifer Hasser added nine kills and three blocks with junior Karla Crose chipping in seven kills. Arkansas managed mini-runs in each of the three games but the Lady’Backs surrendered large early-game leads that proved difficult to overcome. The Lady’Backs were down by as many as eight in the second game and closed within four trailing 27-34 but couldn’t overtake Washington. The Lady’Backs trailed the Huskies, 22-7, letting Washington have a six-point run before going on a six-point rally of their own, but again couldn’t overcome the large deficit. Arkansas held off match point four times pushing to score around the 20-point mark. “I’m proud of how the team didn’t give up,” said Poole. “We were down by a lot early but never quit and that’s great. That’s something to work on.” Haaser paced Arkansas in the first match with 13 kills and hit .265 but the Lady’Backs struggled hitting .086 for the match. Sophomore Amy Allison contributed nine kills, Dorrell tallied six and sophomore Denitza Koleva and junior Iva Docekalova added five kills each for Arkansas. Tournament action continues for Arkansas Saturday when they take on host Wichita State in a 7:30 p.m. contest. Arkansas returns home hosting the C&C Services Invitational Friday and Saturday, Sept. 17-18, in Barnhill Arena. For more information and tickets please call the Lady Razorback Ticket Office at 57-BACK or log on to www.ladybacks.com.