Weekend Road Trip Begins Friday at No. 15 Florida

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Returning to the road for a pair of conference matchups, the University of Arkansas volleyball team travels to Gainesville, Fla., to open its weekend Friday against No. 15 Florida. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. (CT) and will be televised on the SEC Network. The Razorbacks’ trip continues Sunday with a match against South Carolina. With this weekend’s schedule, Arkansas will have played nine of its last 11 matches away from Barnhill Arena.

The Razorbacks, looking to snap a three-match skid, enter Friday’s match with a 13-5 overall record and a 3-3 mark in SEC play. Arkansas and Florida (13-4, 5-3 SEC) are playing for the second time this season, having met less than three weeks ago in Fayetteville. The Razorbacks came away with a five-set win in the match for their first win in the series since 2007. Along with the television broadcast, Friday’s match will be available on ESPN3 and through the WatchESPN app.

Arkansas and South Carolina (8-12, 1-7 SEC) play Sunday at 12:30 p.m. in Columbia. The Razorbacks hold the 24-9 lead in the all-time series including wins in nine of the last 10 meetings dating back to the 2009 season. In matches played on the Gamecocks’ home floor, Arkansas owns a 10-5 advantage. Sunday’s match will be streamed live on ESPN3.

For a fifth-consecutive week, the Razorbacks are mentioned among the nations’ top teams and are receiving votes in the most recent release of the AVCA national poll. The team was first recognized this season in the Sept. 22 rankings after wins over Kansas State and then-No. 11 Wisconsin. Arkansas’ next home match is Friday, Oct. 30, against Auburn.

Collectively, Arkansas is 28th in the NCAA with its .263 hitting percentage this season and continues to rank among the top distribution teams with 12.96 assists per set which ranks 39th in the country. The Razorbacks have tallied a .270 or higher hitting percentage in 12 of 18 matches this season including a season-best .416 mark against Louisiana Tech back on Sept. 4 during the SIUE Cougar Classic.

Over the past two matches, junior Pilar Victoria has totaled 61 kills including a career-high 35 against Ole Miss (Oct. 18) and averaging 6.78 kills per set with a .313 hitting percentage in that time. The 35 kills is the No. 2 single-match mark in program history. She is currently ranked eighth among the nation’s attackers with 4.77 kills per set and 5.31 points per set and leads the SEC in both categories.

Additionally, the Razorbacks are represented in the NCAA statistical rankings by senior Chanell Clark-Bibbs and junior Adrien Wohlschlaeger. Clark-Bibbs enters the weekend ranked 37th in the country with her .390 hitting percentage, having hit .435 in her last two matches. She is also among the top 10 in three categories—hitting percentage, blocks per set and points per set—within the SEC. Wohlschlaeger is 45th among the nation’s setters with 10.79 assists per set.

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