Razorback volleyball hosts Miss State

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas volleyball team continues Southeastern Conference play hosting Mississippi State in a 1:30 p.m. match Sunday in Barnhill Arena. Arkansas (4-12, 1-5 SEC) is coming off a four-set loss to Alabama Friday while the Bulldogs (6-11, -15 SEC) lost at Ole Miss. “Mississippi State is in the same boat as we are,” said Arkansas head coach Robert Pulliza. “They lost a lot of players from last year. This is going to come down to who can be the most consistent for the entire match.” Arkansas has battled well in most of its matches but the Razorbacks have struggled with stringing together an entire match. Against Alabama, Arkansas opened hitting .239 in the first set but saw their numbers drop to .143 in the second frame. The Razorbacks rebounded hitting a match-high .364 winning the third set but a .029 mark in the final set secured the Alabama win. A couple areas Arkansas has found consistency has been in the play of senior Christina Lawrence and freshman Kelli Stipanovich. Lawrence, a Sullivan, Mo., native, has strung together seven consecutive matches with double-digit kills and Stipanovich has had 10 in a row. “Christina and Kelli’s offense has been good,” said Pulliza, “but we need more balance as a team. We need to put together a complete match to get the win.” The Razorbacks host State Sunday and then hit the road for three consecutive road matches at Kentucky, Tennessee and Ole Miss as Arkansas makes its way through the first half of the SEC schedule.