2008 Woodie Awards
Volleyball continues to struggle
Derek Oxford
Issue date: 10/31/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
Arkansas endured yet another tough weekend on the volleyball court, as the Lady'Backs dropped matches to both Alabama and Mississippi State at home.
The two losses leave Arkansas 10-14 overall and 4-10 in Southeastern Conference play, a position that head coach Chris Poole definitely didn't want to have to deal with.
By virtue of its win over the Lady'Backs Friday, Alabama is in the driver's seat of the SEC's western division. The Crimson Tide's victory improved them to 14-9 overall, and they own a stellar 11-3 SEC mark.
In the four-game battle against the Crimson Tide, the Lady'Backs did everything they could to try to stop Alabama, but could not muster enough to earn the win.
"We just don't have enough players all playing well at the same time," Poole said. "We have a couple of players trying to carry us in each game but just can't get everyone at the same time."
Junior Christina Lawrence did her job for Arkansas in the match, recording 13 kills while hitting at a strong .393 clip.
Sarah Freudenrich, a young freshman who has been a spark to the Lady'Backs this season, chimed in with seven blocks. She is among the best in the SEC when it comes to blocks and didn't disappoint against the Crimson Tide.
Ashley Miller, a senior, earned 25 digs in the match to lead all Lady'Backs.
Mississippi State proved to be a more evenly matched affair as the Bulldogs came in with the same conference record as the Lady'Backs but emerged the victors in another four-game match.
"Well, again, it was very disappointing," Poole said. "We had several chances and just couldn't finish the games. It seems as though we have two or three players step up in each game and two or three who don't. We're just not very consistent right now and that is costing us games."
Heather Royal, who, like Freudenrich, is a freshman who has played above her age, added 17 kills to her resume. She continues to get better match by match.
Lawrence also came up big in this match as she accounted for 13 kills while hitting .591, one of the best on the team in the match.
Arkansas out-blocked the visiting Bulldogs 11-6, but Mississippi State played a better match offensively. As a team, they hit .295, and had four players reach the double digit mark in kills. Their leader was Jamie Joyner, who had 17.
Throughout the match, the Lady'Backs play was up and down. For a while, they would go on stretches where they would play solidly. Other times, however, they slacked off, allowing for Mississippi State to cruise and usually make the plays that decided games, and then the match.
Arkansas will look to get back on track this weekend on the road when it travels to face South Carolina and No. 10 Florida.
The two losses leave Arkansas 10-14 overall and 4-10 in Southeastern Conference play, a position that head coach Chris Poole definitely didn't want to have to deal with.
By virtue of its win over the Lady'Backs Friday, Alabama is in the driver's seat of the SEC's western division. The Crimson Tide's victory improved them to 14-9 overall, and they own a stellar 11-3 SEC mark.
In the four-game battle against the Crimson Tide, the Lady'Backs did everything they could to try to stop Alabama, but could not muster enough to earn the win.
"We just don't have enough players all playing well at the same time," Poole said. "We have a couple of players trying to carry us in each game but just can't get everyone at the same time."
Junior Christina Lawrence did her job for Arkansas in the match, recording 13 kills while hitting at a strong .393 clip.
Sarah Freudenrich, a young freshman who has been a spark to the Lady'Backs this season, chimed in with seven blocks. She is among the best in the SEC when it comes to blocks and didn't disappoint against the Crimson Tide.
Ashley Miller, a senior, earned 25 digs in the match to lead all Lady'Backs.
Mississippi State proved to be a more evenly matched affair as the Bulldogs came in with the same conference record as the Lady'Backs but emerged the victors in another four-game match.
"Well, again, it was very disappointing," Poole said. "We had several chances and just couldn't finish the games. It seems as though we have two or three players step up in each game and two or three who don't. We're just not very consistent right now and that is costing us games."
Heather Royal, who, like Freudenrich, is a freshman who has played above her age, added 17 kills to her resume. She continues to get better match by match.
Lawrence also came up big in this match as she accounted for 13 kills while hitting .591, one of the best on the team in the match.
Arkansas out-blocked the visiting Bulldogs 11-6, but Mississippi State played a better match offensively. As a team, they hit .295, and had four players reach the double digit mark in kills. Their leader was Jamie Joyner, who had 17.
Throughout the match, the Lady'Backs play was up and down. For a while, they would go on stretches where they would play solidly. Other times, however, they slacked off, allowing for Mississippi State to cruise and usually make the plays that decided games, and then the match.
Arkansas will look to get back on track this weekend on the road when it travels to face South Carolina and No. 10 Florida.
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