Arkansas volleyball hosts Florida Friday

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas volleyball team returns to Southeastern Conference action this weekend hosting No. 10 Florida and South Carolina in Barnhill Arena. Arkansas (4-7, 1-0 SEC) opens the weekend Friday at 7 p.m. hosting 10th-ranked Florida (8-1, 2-0 SEC) followed by a 1:30 p.m. match with the Gamecocks (10-1, 2-0 SEC) Sunday. “We’ve spent this week getting ready for Florida and South Carolina,” said Arkansas head coach Robert Pulliza. “It’s great to be at home and we’re excited about two very good SEC teams coming to Barnhill.” Pulliza couldn’t be more accurate when talking about this week’s opponents. The Razorbacks open with perennial national powerhouse Florida who is ranked 10th in both the CBS College Sports Network/AVCA Coaches Poll and the Volleyball Magazine polls this week. The Gators opened SEC play with home wins against Georgia and LSU and have just one loss. That loss came at the hands of No. 21 Colorado State, a team that also downed the Razorbacks. Weekend action continues as Arkansas faces one of the best teams the Gamecocks have had in recent history. South Carolina opened the 2008 season with a loss to Arizona State but has won 10 in a row including victories over LSU and Georgia to begin league play. “We had a great week of practice last week,” said Pulliza, “and a great practice at Auburn Friday. I felt good, I felt prepared going into the Auburn match. We pulled out a win despite a little drop in performance in the third and fourth sets but we regrouped and dominated the fifth set. That kind of hard-fought win gets us ready for the next battle. “Christina (Lawrence) and Heather (Royal) were steady and assertive (against Auburn) and both really sparked us with their play and emotion.” Arkansas will need that spark again this weekend against two of the SEC East’s leading teams. Tickets for Friday’s match are $1 at the doors and the first several hundred fans will receive a free Razorback volleyball drinking cup. For more information about Arkansas volleyball, please log on to AraknsasRazorbacks.com.