Top-10 Offensive Performance Leads to Sweep

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – On the strength of a .430 team hitting percentage, the University of Arkansas volleyball team tallied its 11th-consecutive win over Mississippi State Sunday afternoon at Barnhill Arena. The straight-set win was the Razorbacks’ third in a row and pushed the team’s record to 15-6 overall with a 5-4 mark in SEC play. The team’s offensive performance equaled the sixth-highest hitting percentage for a single match in program history.

FINAL
Arkansas 3, Mississippi State 0 (25-18, 25-7, 25-18) | Box Score
Attendance: 948 | Time: 1:18
Barnhill Arena (Fayetteville, Ark.)

#RazorStats

  • Leaders vs Mississippi State
    • Kills: Pilar Victoria – 19
    • Digs: Okiana Valle – 11
    • Blocks: Elizabeth Pamphile – 4.0 (0-4)

Redshirt senior and team co-captain Pilar Victoria led the way with a match-high 19 kills and no attack errors on 32 swings, good for a .594 hitting percentage. Sunday’s outing marked the first error-free match of Victoria’s career at Arkansas and second of the season with an efficiency of .500 or better. She hit .692 (19-1-26) against ULM in the second match of the season.

For the sixth time in the last seven match, freshman Hailey Dirrigl found her way into double figures with 11 kills against the Bulldogs. She finished the match with a .375 hitting percentage, committing just two attack errors on 24 swings. Dirrigl also had an ace for the third-consecutive match. Redshirt sophomore Fernanda Güitron put down a career-high seven kills and setter Rachel Rippee directed the offense with 38 assists to go along with seven digs, two aces and two total blocks.

Defensively, the Razorbacks limited Mississippi State (9-15, 0-9 SEC) to a .100 hitting percentage in the match including a .000 mark over the final two sets Sunday. Four players had at least seven digs, paced by junior libero Okiana Valle who led all players with 11 digs. At the net, freshman Elizabeth Pamphile put up a match-high four total blocks and the Razorbacks finished the match with eight total team blocks.

Arkansas secured the opening set by winning five of the last six points. Back-to-back kills by Dirrigl gave the team a handful of set points and Victoria sealed the 1-0 match lead with an ace. The Razorbacks’ 25-7 win in the second was their largest of season. In the third set, the frame was tied at 16-all but the home team responded by taking nine of the final 11 points to clinch its 10th sweep of the year.

The Razorbacks’ next match is a midweek road contest at Georgia. Wednesday’s match is scheduled for a 6 p.m. (CT) start in Athens and will be televised on ESPNU. Cara Capuano and Missy Whittemore will handle play-by-play and color analyst duties, respectively. Arkansas’ next home match is Friday, Nov. 3 against LSU.

For more information about Arkansas Volleyball, follow @RazorbackVB on Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter.