Arkansas solid in three game win at Mississippi

Jump to Mississippi boxscore OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Arkansas continues to take care of business notching their sixth consecutive win with a three-game victory at Mississippi Sunday. Arkansas improved to 19-8 overall and 11-3 in the Southeastern Conference continuing to lead the Western Division while Ole Miss fell to 7-20 overall and 1-13 in the SEC with the 30-28, 30-23, 30-23 win. Redshirt freshman Christina Lawrence continued to play well finishing with eight kills and a.727 hitting percentage. Junior Denitza Koleva paced the team with 13 kills and hit .308 while junior Kele Brewer led the team with 10 digs. Arkansas hit .402 in the match holding Ole Miss to a .173 mark. Rebel Kristen Carroll led Ole Miss with 17 kills and a .419 hitting percentage. “I’m happy to win in three,” said Arkansas head coach Chris Poole. “We were not as focused as we should have been in game one but we regrouped and did a much better job in the second and third games.” Both teams seemed content to exchange points until the midway mark of the first game when Mississippi tied the score at 15-all. The Rebels went on a 7-0 run opening a 21-15 lead with some tough serving that had Arkansas on its heels. Poole took his second timeout and the break fired up the Lady’Backs who responded with a 7-0 run of their own again tying the game this time at 21-all. The game would be tied five more times finally at 28-all. Arkansas’ Jessica Dorrell hammered a kill through the middle of the Ole Miss defense that silenced the crowd and sealed the Rebels fate. Ashley Miller finished off the game with an ace serve giving Arkansas the first frame win. “From the middle of game one, we started playing more aggressive and we did a better job of controlling our side of the net.” Arkansas hit .517 in the first game with Koleva leading all hitters with eight kills and a .636 hitting percentage. Dorrell had four kills and hit .667 while Ole Miss hit an impressive .290 as a team. The Lady’Backs dominated the second game from the opening serve going on a seven point run behind solid serving from senior Iva Docekalova. Arkansas’ block also heated up with five in game two while the offense continued to play well hitting .344 in the frame. Ole Miss’ offense cooled a bit with 14 kills, nine errors and a .125 hitting percentage. Arkansas also handled the serve better after allowing the Rebels five aces in game one, Ole Miss did not have a perfect serve in game two. Game three would again be a bit tighter in the early goings before Arkansas would pull away. Arkansas ran up by five, 7-2, but Ole Miss fought back. The game was tied at 17 when Dorrell recorded a tip kill giving the Lady’Backs a lead they wouldn’t surrender. “It’s great win over a conference opponent, especially on the road,” said Poole. “We still have some tough matches left and we want to stay focused and do our job.” With two matches remaining, Arkansas has the lead in the SEC Western Division and the Lady’Backs would like to move up into the second spot in the conference overall but will need some help. Currently, Arkansas is 11-3 in SEC matches, a game ahead of 10-3 Tennessee. The Lady Vols have three matches remaining and a loss by Arkansas could cost the Lady’Backs the second seed in the upcoming SEC Tournament. Arkansas continues conference action at LSU Wednesday and concludes the 2005 regular season Sunday, Nov. 11, hosting Kentucky at 1:30 p.m. For more information about Arkansas volleyball, log on to LADYBACKS.COM.