Arkansas Volleyball hosts Georgia Sunday

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas volleyball team hosts Georgia in Southeastern Conference volleyball action Sunday in Barnhill Arena. Arkansas (7-21, 4-14) struggled Friday in a three-set loss to LSU and head coach Robert Pulliza is looking for something to build on Sunday. The Bulldogs are 9-9 in league play and 16-13 overall. “Right now, we’re just working on getting better at the little things,” said Pulliza. “We have to control our effort and our hitting. We’re trying to improve each time we’re on the court and build toward the spring and of course, next fall.” Senior Christina Lawrence has accounted for much of Arkansas’ offense this year. The Sullivan, Mo., native leads the team hitting .322 with 3.32 kills-per-set this year. The Razorbacks hold a 13-5 series advantage over Georgia all-time, but the Bulldogs’ win in Athens earlier this season snapped a five-match Arkansas win streak that dated back to Oct. 15, 2004. Georgia defeated Arkansas in three sets in Athens. The Razorbacks hit .330 with 37 kills in the loss. Kelli Stipanovich paced the team with 11 kills and a .455 hitting performance while Lawrence added 10 kills and hit .364. The Bulldogs, however, out-hit Arkansas, .440-.330, with more kills (54-37) and digs (44-25) in that match. Georgia also had two players with double-digit kills led by Lindsay Gehan who had 15 kills and hit .591 for the Bulldogs. “Georgia is playing some pretty good volleyball right now,” said Pulliza. “But we’re not as concerned with what they are doing as we are with what we are doing. We want to come out and play ‘Arkansas Volleyball’ and control the tempo and scoring. We are focused on implementing the things we work on in practice and just getting better each time we play.” The Razorbacks remain at home for the final match of the 2008 season. Arkansas hosts Ole Miss Saturday, Nov. 29, in a 1:30 p.m. match in Barnhill Arena. For more information about Arkansas volleyball, please log on to ArkansasRazorbacks.com.