First Week of SEC Play Continues Sunday at Texas A&M

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – On the heels of Wednesday’s SEC-opening win at LSU, the University of Arkansas volleyball team caps the opening week of league play Sunday with a road match at Texas A&M. First serve of the matchup is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. (CT) at Reed Arena in College Station and will be streamed live online through ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app. With its midweek win, Arkansas is 11-2 overall with a 1-0 mark in SEC play.

Sunday’s match represents just the sixth all-time meeting between the Razorbacks and Texas A&M (7-4/0-0). The teams split two matches last season with each winning on the other’s home floor with Arkansas picking up its first win in the series with a four-set win on Oct. 15, 2014, over the then-No. 20 Aggies. Both teams were receiving votes in Monday’s release of the AVCA national poll.

In the Razorbacks’ last outing, junior outside hitter Pilar Victoria registered the 10th 30-kill performance in program history to lead the team to a 3-2 victory over LSU in Baton Rouge. Junior setter Adrien Wohlschlaeger had her first career double-double with 65 assists and 14 digs while senior middle blocker Chanell Clark-Bibbs tallied 17 kills in the win. Led by freshman libero Okiana Valle, Arkansas had four players with 10 or more digs in a match for the fourth time this season.

Arkansas’ offense is ranked among the top 50 nationally in three categories at 15th in hitting percentage (.278), 31st in assists per set (13.19) and 50th in kills per set (13.77). Individually, Clark-Bibbs is tied for 15th in the NCAA with her .433 hitting percentage while Victoria is 17th among the nation’s attackers with 4.46 kills per set and 4.98 points per set. In directing the offense, Wohlschlaeger is 21st in the NCAA at 11.27 assists per set.

Defensively, the Razorbacks are holding their opponents to a .167 hitting percentage this season with the help of 13.67 digs per set and 2.21 blocks per set. With at least 17 digs in the last three matches, Valle is averaging 4.27 digs per set during Arkansas’ current three-match win streak. The Razorbacks have held eight opponents to a .200 or lower hitting percentage this season.

Beginning with last weekend’s Creighton Classic, the Razorbacks are in the middle of a stretch that features seven-straight matches against teams that played in last year’s NCAA Tournament. The Razorbacks are 3-1 through the first four matches. Following Sunday’s match, Arkansas’ SEC home opener is Oct. 4 against fifth-ranked Florida at 3 p.m. (CT) inside Barnhill Arena.

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