Miller sets career dig record as Lady'Backs go 0-2

MANHATTAN, KAN. – University of Arkansas senior Ashley Miller set the school’s career dig record Friday, in Manhattan, Kan., as the Lady Razorback volleyball team went 0-2 at Varney’s Kansas State Invitational. Arkansas (6-3) dropped its first match to No. 22 Kansas State 23-30, 23-30, 27-30. The Lady’Backs followed up with a five-game 30-14, 30-13, 24-30, 28-30, 13-15 loss against Fresno State. “We’re just making a lot of mistakes right now,” said head coach Chris Poole. “There is a lot of youth on the court and a lot of inexperience. We’re going to have to do all the little things if we’re going to win.” Miller broke the Arkansas record for career digs in game two against Kansas State. The Vacaville, Calif., native now has 1, 693 digs and holds the top spot in the record book after starting the season in second place among all of Arkansas’ players. The previous record was 1,659 held by Krystal Osborne (1994-97). Against the 22nd ranked Wildcats, the Lady’Backs struggled offensively hitting .186 for the match with 35 kills and 17 errors. Senior Jessica Dorrell paced all hitters with 13 kills. The Aledo, Texas, native also had a .370 hitting percentage. Freshman Heather Royal tallied seven kills and freshman Sarah Freudenrich added five kills and a .364 hitting percentage. Miller had a match-high 13 digs followed by Royal with eight. Sophomore Catherine Fowler added a team-high four block assists and junior Nicole Martin tallied three service aces. Arkansas finished the game with six blocks and was out-blocked 9-6 in the loss. The Lady’Backs hit just .186 to KSU’s .306. The Lady’Backs fought a point for point battle against Kansas State in the first game until the Wildcats took the lead for good at 24-23. Arkansas called two timeouts, at 24-23 and 26-23, but the Wildcats continued to roll finishing the game with a 7-0 run, including two aces. In game two, Arkansas hit .281, its best percentage of the match. The Wildcats, however, hit .421 and tallied five of their nine team blocks this game. In the final game, Dorrell came alive with seven of her 13 kills, but the Lady’Backs fell short against a balanced KSU attack which had three players in double-digit kills. Versus Fresno State, the Lady’Backs’ offense started out on fire with a 15-3 lead in game one. Three players, Dorrell, Lawrence and Fowler, hit .500 or better. At 15-12 in the second game, Arkansas went on a 15-1 run to take their second-game win easily. Dorrell served eight of the points, including two aces. The Bulldogs came back from the break a determined bunch hitting in positive numbers and tripling its dig count in the next two games to force a fifth game. In the final game of the match a 7-1 run put the Bulldogs up 13-8. Arkansas fought back to 13-14 score before the game-winning kill came from Lacey Gera on the right-side. “We didn’t communicate well and didn’t make key plays and just allowed them to stay in it,” said Poole. “That just goes to show that volleyball is a game that you’re never out of. Even though there were times we were fighting back we never did totally reclaim our confidence. We’re going to have to pick up the pieces and regroup.” Despite the loss the Lady’Backs held the advantage in almost every statistic. Arkansas had a hitting percentage of .251 to Fresno State’s .078. Arkansas also bettered the Bulldogs in kills, blocks, service aces, digs and assists. Fresno State had just five service errors to Arkansas’ 12. Dorrell continued her streak of double-digit kills to nine straight with a match-high 23 kills. She also had 10 digs and a career-high four service aces. Lawrence added 15 kills, followed by Freudenrich with 10. Miller led all players with 26 digs and Royal added 16. Fowler led all blockers with two block solos and five block assists. She was followed by Freudenrich who added one block solo and five block assists. The Lady’Backs continue play at Varney’s Kansas State Invitational Saturday facing Northern Iowa at 10 a.m. The Panthers face Kansas State at 7:30 p.m. Friday. For more information about Arkansas volleyball log on to LADYBACKS.COM.