Lawrence's 19 not enough at Alabama

Jump to Alabama box scoreTUSCALOOSA, Ala. – University of Arkansas senior Christina Lawrence tallied 19 kills and hit .421 but could not rally the Razorbacks for the Southeastern Conference win at Alabama Sunday. Arkansas (7-20, 4-13 SEC) fell in four sets to the Crimson Tide (15-11, 8-9 SEC) 23-25, 25-22, 14-25, 17-25. “At times we had a great effort,” said Arkansas head coach Robert Pulliza. “We made some nice defensive plays and had some runs but we couldn’t sustain them. Today’s match was a reflection of the season, up-and-down.” Lawrence, who posted a career-best 29 kills leading Arkansas to a five-set win at Mississippi State Friday, tried again to rally Arkansas at Alabama. She paced the hitters as Arkansas got 14 kills from freshman Kelli Stipanovich and 10 from junior Kristin Seaton. The Fort Smith, Ark., native hit .562 with four digs and block for Arkansas. The first frame was a back-and-forth battle with neither team really controlling the tempo or pace of play. The Crimson Tide had set point leading 24-20 but the Razorbacks held off the win scoring three in a row. Alabama took a quick timeout to regain its composure and finally put the set away with a kill when setter Stephanie Riley dumped the ball over the net to an unsuspecting Arkansas defense. The second frame was much like the first with the teams trading points and keeping the score close. It would be Arkansas who grabbed the 22-21 lead late and pushed to the win behind a pair of kills from Lawrence and an Alabama hitting error. But Arkansas struggled out of the lockerroom to start the third set. The Razorbacks spotted Alabama a 5-1 lead and Pulliza burned a quick timeout trying to get Arkansas to scratch back into the set. It wouldn’t happen as the Razorbacks were out-hit .571-.200 in the third set. Unfortunately for the Razorbacks, the fourth set didn’t start any better. Arkansas allowed Bama a five-point, 8-3 lead that stretched to 11-6 quickly behind the play of Crimson Tide junior Brooks Webster. Webster finished with 14 kills for Alabama. The Razorbacks tried to mount a comeback late in the frame with better defense and several athletic digs on some broken plays but the early Alabama lead was too much to overcome. Sophomore Heather Royal finished the match with 16 digs and sophomore Phoebe Bautista added eight for Arkansas. The loss marks the end of the 2008 road season for the Razorbacks. Arkansas returns home hosting LSU Friday and Georgia Sunday followed by the final home match Nov. 29, against Ole Miss. For more information about Arkansas volleyball, log on to ArkansasRazorbacks.com.