Road Trip to Illinois for SIUE Cougar Classic
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – For the second weekend of its 2015 campaign, the University of Arkansas volleyball team travels to Edwardsville, Ill., for the Cougar Classic hosted by SIUE. The Razorbacks are joined in the tournament field by Louisiana Tech, Northern Kentucky and host SIUE. Play begins Friday at 11 a.m. (CT) with a matchup with Louisiana Tech, followed by a 7 p.m. date against SIUE.
2015 Cougar Classic
Friday, Sept. 4
11 a.m. | Arkansas vs. Louisiana Tech – Live Stats
7 p.m. | Arkansas vs. SIUE – Live Stats | Video
Saturday, Sept. 5
2 p.m. | Arkansas vs. Northern Kentucky – Live Stats
Arkansas (2-1) split its previous two matchups with the Lady Techsters but the two programs haven’t met since the 1999 season, a straight-set win for the Razorbacks in Fayetteville. Arkansas will be facing both Northern Kentucky and SIUE for the first time. Fans can follow each match through live stats with a schedule web stream available for Friday night’s match against SIUE.
In their last outing, the Razorbacks won two of three during the season-opening Arkansas Invitational with Chanell Clark-Bibbs and Pilar Victoria earning all-tournament accolades. Clark-Bibbs posted a .417 hitting percentage with 2.64 kills per set and 1.09 blocks per set while Victoria registered 4.45 kills per set and 3.18 digs per set to go with two double-double performances.
Collectively, Arkansas leads the SEC with 16.45 digs per set after the first weekend of the season. Five Razorbacks are averaging at least 1.91 digs per set, led by Kori Ortiz (4.0 d/s) who tallied a career-high 17 digs against Kansas. In the final two matches of the Arkansas Invitational, the team had four reach double-digit digs. Monica Bollinger enters the weekend with 812 career digs, just six behind Phoebe Bautista (2007-09) for 15th place on the program’s all-time list.
After its weekend at the SIUE tournament, Arkansas returns to its home court Sept. 11-12 for the Razorback Invitational at Barnhill Arena. The home event is also set to feature Northwestern State, Southeast Missouri and UT Arlington. During the season-opening Arkansas Invitational, the fans recorded the seventh- and eighth-largest home crowds in program history.
For more information about Arkansas volleyball, follow @RazorbackVB on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter.