Razorbacks Drop Four-Set Match at No. 4 Florida
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Arkansas volleyball team landed the first blow Friday evening before falling in four sets to fourth-ranked Florida at Exactech Arena. Redshirt senior Pilar Victoria led all players with 18 kills, sophomore Rachel Rippee tallied her 11th double-double of the season and junior libero Okiana Valle had 20 digs in the match. With the setback, Arkansas is now 17-9 overall with a 7-7 mark in SEC play.
Continuing their three-match road swing, the Razorbacks returns to action Sunday afternoon at South Carolina. First serve of the weekend finale is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. CT and will be streamed live on SEC Network+ through the WatchESPN app. Arkansas leads the all-time series against the Gamecocks, 25-12, including 10 of 17 played on the road.
FINAL
No. 4 Florida 3, Arkansas 1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-13, 25-7) | Box Score
Attendance: 3,031 | Time: 1:55
Exactech Arena (Gainesville, Fla.)
#RazorStats
- Leaders at Florida
- Kills: Pilar Victoria – 18
- Digs: Okiana Valle – 20
- Blocks: Three tied with 3.0
- Double-Doubles
- Rachel Rippee – 38 assists, 17 digs
Victoria added nine digs, three total blocks and an ace to her offensive output. With 38 assists and a career-high 17 digs, Rippee registered her third double-double in a row. Valle’s effort marked her fifth match of the season with at least 20 digs; three of those have come during conference play.
Trailing by three at the media timeout in the first set, the Razorbacks rattled off six of the next seven points to go ahead 18-16 after a kill by Logan Brown and an ace by Victoria. The advantage grew to 21-18 after a Florida attack error. The Gators pulled to within one before Arkansas answered to regain the three-point cushion at 23-20 with an ace by Krista Kolbinskie. Dirrigl put down her second kill for set point and on the team’s third chance, Victoria went down the line for the Razorbacks’ first set win in Gainesville since 2004.
Despite a late set push by the visitors, Florida (21-1, 13-1 SEC) evened the match with a 25-20 triumph in the second. The Razorbacks trailed 23-17 but put together a four-point surge to cut their deficit to three and force a Florida timeout. The run was punctuated by a block by Rippee and Elizabeth Pamphile and two kills by Victoria. However, the hosts secured the last two points to pull even in the match.
In the third set, the Gators used an 8-2 run to stretch a one-point edge into a seven-point advantage and led 18-11 before pulling away to win set three. Another run of points early in the fourth set put Florida ahead on the scoreboard before closing the match on a 14-0 run.
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