No. 22 Santa Clara edges Lady'Backs

Jump to Santa Clarabox score || Jump to play-by-play SANTA CLARA, Calif. – For the second time in as many days the University of Arkansas volleyball team forced a fifth game with a top-ranked opponent, taking No. 22 Santa Clara the distance before falling in five. Arkansas (1-2) battled fatigue and unforced errors early in the match but never let up before dropping the match 30, 32-30, 25-30, 30-26, 17-19. “We were in it right to the end,” said Arkansas head coach Chris Poole. “We had several opportunities to win but just couldn’t get it done. I’m proud of the way we played this weekend. We showed a lot of heart and I’m excited for what the future holds for this young team.” Arkansas was paced by senior Jennifer Haaser with 19 kills, a .304 hitting percentage, eight digs and eight blocks in the match. Sophomore Amy Allison added 14 kills and three blocks while sophomore Denizta Koleva tallied 12 kills. Freshman Jessica Dorrell had 11 kills and four digs and junior Karla Crose had 10 kills and 18 digs rounding out Arkansas double-digit kill totals. The Lady Razorbacks had opportunities to win each game of Saturday’s match but several unforced errors kept Arkansas from that goal. The final game thrilled the crowd of 300-plus from the first serve. The game was tight with Arkansas leading 8-7 at the break when the teams changed benches. Arkansas managed a bit of a run opening a two-point lead they clung to until the first match point. Up 14-13, an Arkansas miss-hit tied the game at 14. Haaser rallied with a thundering kill down the line giving Arkansas a 15-14 edge but the Broncos answered with a kill from Jac Heler to again tie the game. Another unforced error by the Lady’Backs gave Santa Clara the edge but a Bronco mistake handed the ball back to Arkansas with the game tied at 16-all. Allison put Arkansas in front with a kill off the slide but the Lady’Backs again stumbled with a hitting error opening the door for the Broncos. Santa Clara finally stepped through with a block and a kill to win the match. “We certainly had several chances to win the match late in the fifth game,” said Poole, “but we really lost the match in the first few games when we didn’t play as well as I’d like. We have to cut down on our unforced errors and control things on our side of the net.” Arkansas returns to train in Fayetteville this week before departing Thursday for Wichita, Kansas, and the Green Mills Restaurant Classic. The Lady’Backs face No. 7 Washington, Michigan State (45 points) and the host Shockers (13 points) in the two-day round robin event. The Lady Razorbacks return home hosting the C&C Services Invitational Sept. 17-18. Arkansas welcomes No. Illinois and nationally recognized Houston along with Ball State. For more information and tickets please call the Lady Razorback Ticket Office at 57-LBACK or log on to www.ladybacks.com.