Volleyball faces Georgia Auburn on road

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas volleyball team hits the road for a second consecutive weekend to take on Georgia and Auburn in a pair of Southeastern Conference matchups. The Razorbacks begin play with an Oct. 2 match at Georgia scheduled for a 6 p.m. (CT) from the Ramsey Student Center in Athens, Ga. In the Oct. 4 weekend finale, Arkansas takes on Auburn at 1:30 p.m. (CT).Entering their matchup with Georgia, the Razorbacks carry a 7-8 record with a 1-3 mark in SEC action. The team defeated South Carolina in the conference opener, but has dropped its last three, including setbacks to No. 5 Florida and then-No. 17 Kentucky.In the all-time series, Arkansas leads Georgia, 13-6, after the Bulldogs won both meetings last season. The Razorbacks had won the previous five matchups. Against Auburn, Arkansas has won 22 of the past 24 meetings dating back to the 1997 season. The Razorbacks lead the all-time series, 28-3.Freshman Jasmine Norton continues to lead the Razorbacks’ offensive attack with 3.43 kills per set, the sixth-best mark in the SEC, and 175 total kills. Fellow freshman Amanda Anderson is hitting a team-high .346 this season with 2.58 kills per set. In Arkansas’ last match, sophomore Kelli Stipanovich posted an .800 hitting percentage with 12 kills on 15 attempts and no errors. Her single-match effort is tied for the third-best performance in program history and represents the second-highest hitting percentage by a conference player this season.Senior Lindsay Scanlan directs the offense from her setter position and dishes out 9.83 assists per set, the fifth-best mark in the conference. At the service line, Norton and freshman Janeliss Torres-Lopez are fifth and seventh in the SEC, respectively, in aces per set.Defensively, the Razorbacks are averaging 18.00 digs per set through league matches, the highest in the SEC in conference-only contests. The Arkansas defensive charge is led by sophomore libero Phoebe Bautista who is third in league-only matches with 4.83 digs per set. Overall, Bautista is fourth in the conference.Georgia (10-4, 1-2) dropped its last match, a straight-sets loss to LSU. On the season, the Bulldogs are led offensively by Erika Clark’s 3.08 kills per set and Kathleen Gates’ 10.00 assists per set. Valentina Gonzalez is third in the SEC with a .371 hitting percentage. The Bulldogs are the top serving team in the conference with 1.61 aces per set. They are also third in the league with 2.52 blocks per set, led by Gonzalez (1.14 b/s) and Ann Dylla (1.08).In its last outing, Auburn (9-5, 1-2) also lost to LSU in straight sets. Sarah Bullock and Morgan Johns are tied for the team lead with 2.44 kills per set. The Tigers utilize two setters in a 6-2 system and are second in the SEC as a team with 1.46 service aces per set. Defensively, Auburn is led by Liz Crouch who averages 4.02 digs per set.Live stats will be available and both of the Razorbacks’ matches this weekend are set to be broadcast via the internet at ArkansasRazorbacks.com.

Download: arkvb uga, au notes.pdf