FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas volleyball team returns to its home court at Barnhill Arena to begin Southeastern Conference play Friday night when it hosts Tennessee. First serve of the SEC opener is set for 7 p.m. (CT). Single-match tickets are $5 for adults while UA students and fans 17 years and younger receive free admission.
Fan Promotions vs. Tennessee | 7 p.m.
• Free Food Friday: First 50 UA students receive a FREE hot dog, popcorn and drink voucher.
• Residence Hall Attendance Challenge: Each residence hall will compete to see which can bring the most students to the match with the winner receiving a pizza party with the volleyball team.
• Volleyball Bingo: Fans will pick up a bingo card as they enter with prizes given out throughout the match to winners.
• Most Valuable Professor Night: Professors of each player will be recognized during the match.
Arkansas (6-7) has won five of six SEC openers under seventh-year head coach Robert Pulliza. Overall, the Razorbacks are 11-9 in conference openers and 13-7 in SEC home openers. Tennessee (7-7) owns a slight 17-16 advantage in the all-time series between the two programs. Arkansas will be looking for its first win against the Lady Vols in Fayetteville since the 2006 season.
In their last outing, the Razorbacks wrapped up the non-conference schedule by winning two of three last weekend at the Jayhawk Classic in Lawrence, Kan. For their respective performances, Chanell Clark-Bibbs and Meredith Hays earned all-tournament honors. Libero Monica Bollinger moved into 25th place on the program’s career digs list with her 16-dig effort in the weekend finale against No. 24 Kansas.
Hays enters the weekend ranked first in the SEC and 20th in the NCAA with 4.33 kills per set and 29th in the NCAA with 4.89 points per set. Defensively, Ana Sofia Jusino is 29th in the country with 1.38 blocks per set. She paces the team blocking effort which is 27th in the NCAA with 2.72 blocks per set. The Razorbacks out-blocked their opponent in 10 of the team’s 13 non-conference matches.
Both matches his weekend—playing Mississippi State Sunday at 1:30 p.m.—will be streamed live on SEC Network+ which is available through SECNetwork.com, ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN app. For fans wanting to catch the action in person, season tickets are still available through the Razorback Ticket Center online at ArkansasRazorbacks.com or by calling 800-982-HOGS (4647). Beginning at $40 for general admission, each package includes a free Razorback knit hat.
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