BATON ROUGE, La. – Off a pair of home victories last weekend to open conference play, the University of Arkansas volleyball team travels to Baton Rouge, La., for its first road match of the SEC season. The Razorbacks play LSU Sunday at 1 p.m. (CT) at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The match will be streamed live on SEC Network+ which is also available through SECNetwork.com, ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN app.
Arkansas (8-7, 2-0 SEC) holds the 25-16 lead in the all-time series with LSU (5-7, 0-3 SEC) and has won three of the last five meetings between the two teams dating back to the 2011 season. The Razorbacks also own a slight advantage in matches played in Baton Rouge, 11-9. The teams met just once in 2013, a five-set victory for LSU on its home court. In that match, Meredith Hays led all players with 22 kills while Ana Sofia Jusino tied for the match high with nine total blocks.
The Razorbacks are 2-0 in SEC play for the eighth time in program history and second-consecutive season after last weekend’s wins over Tennessee and Mississippi State in Fayetteville. In the weekend final over the Bulldogs, Arkansas established season highs with a .354 hitting percentage and seven service aces. Overall, the Razorbacks registered a .346 hitting percentage during the opening weekend of conference play.
In this week’s release of NCAA statistical rankings, the Razorbacks are 34th in the country—and third in the SEC—with 2.62 blocks per set. With eight team blocks against Mississippi State, Arkansas out-blocked its opponent for the 11th time in 15 matches this season. Collectively, the Razorbacks are holding their opponents to a .180 hitting percentage which ranks as the fifth lowest among SEC teams.
Individually, senior Meredith Hays leads the SEC and is 15th among the nation’s attackers with 4.49 kills per set and 21st with 5.03 points per set. On the defensive side, redshirt sophomore Ana Sofia Jusino is 36th in the NCAA with 1.31 blocks per set. Jusino and junior Chanell Clark-Bibbs (1.07 b/s) are both inside the SEC’s top 10 in blocking. Junior libero Monica Bollinger is sixth among the conference liberos with 3.89 digs per set.
The SEC Network is coming to Fayetteville Wednesday evening for Arkansas’ next home match, a midweek contest with Ole Miss. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Barnhill Arena. It will be the Razorbacks’ first television appearance on the newly launched network.
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