Razorbacks battle Back to Complete Weekend Sweep

August 31, 2019

By ARKANSAS SPORTS INFORMATION

FAYETTEVILLE – Trailing by two sets in its final match of the Arkansas Classic, the University of Arkansas Volleyball team ignited a fire and battled back to win the final three sets and defeat opponent Montana State, 3-2 on Saturday morning. The Razorbacks’ win helped them claim the tournament title for the second consecutive year after defeating Northwestern State and Little Rock on Friday.

FINAL
Arkansas 3, Montana State 2 (20-25, 28-30, 25-15, 25-18, 15-13)
Attendance: 405 | Time: 2:30
Barnhill Arena

Quick Hits
Stat Leaders vs Montana State
Kills: Jillian Gillen – 26
Digs: Gillen, Rachel Rippee, Gracie Ryan – 13
Double-Doubles: Gillen (26 kills, 13 digs), Rippee (31 assists, 13 digs), Ryan (26 assists, 13 digs)

Notables
Freshman Jillian Gillen joins the elite list of 25+ kill performances, she is one of 22 players all-time at Arkansas.
Sophomore Ellease Crumpton posted 11 kills behind a match-high .688 hitting percentage.

It was a slow start for the Razorbacks on Saturday morning, always within a few points of the Bobcats, Arkansas just couldn’t manage to pull ahead of Montana State. MSU dominated the entire first set as Arkansas was unable to make up for its errors, both offensively and defensively. Eight service errors and double-digit attack and reception errors would prevent the Hogs from ever starting a rally.

Things began to turn in favor of the Hogs in the third set, as Arkansas recorded 16 kills and a .367 hitting percentage. Arkansas took the first two points of the set with back-to-back kills from Gillen and freshman Maggie Cartwright. Gillen and Cartwright would each contribute four kills apiece in the third set and the Razorback defense held Montana State to only five kills total in the third, hitting only .030 at the net.

Arkansas kept the pressure on the Bobcats, throwing down 17 kills and recording four service aces, one each from Rippee, Crumpton, Gillen, and Cartwright. After jumping out to a 4-0 lead, the Hogs looked to have the fourth set in the bag, but five unanswered points by Montana tied the score at 16-16 late in the set. Arkansas maintained its composure and closed out the set on a 9-2 run.

The Hogs and Bobcats went back and forth in the fifth set with Montana State holding onto an 8-6 lead at the break. Leading 14-13, down to the wire, Cartwright served up the only Razorback ace in the set, helping the Hogs secure the 15-13 final set win.

Arkansas will practice early next week as they prepare for a trip to the west coast for the SDSU/USD Challenge in San Diego, Calif. hosted by San Diego State.

ResultsSet ScoresBox Score
Montana State 3 – Little Rock 025-11, 25-11, 25-21Box Score
Arkansas 3 – Northwestern State 225-18, 25-20, 25-18Box Score
Northwestern State 3 – Montana State 225-22, 16-25, 16-25, 28-26, 15-13Box Score
Arkansas 3 – Little Rock 025-20, 25-21, 25-12Box Score
Arkansas 3 – Montana State 220-25, 28-30, 25-15, 25-18, 15-13Box Score
Northwestern State 3 – Little Rock 025-20, 25-17, 25-17Box Score

Williams Baptist repeats at Lyon College

News Photo
WIlliams Baptist University Sports Information

August 30, 2019

By WILLIAMS BAPTIST SPORTS INFORMATION

BATESVILLE – A year ago the Williams Baptist University men’s cross country team won a meet for the first time in school history. Today, the Eagles repeated that feat at the same course and race. WBU won the Lyon Invitational, hosted by Lyon College in Batesville.

The team won with 36 points. They finished one point ahead of Lyon (37) and 13 points ahead of Crowley’s Ridge College (49). It was head coach Tim Shepard‘s first race as the head Eagle.

“Today was only a 5km race, but I think my guys have gained some confidence. They showed their competitive nature. We are not where we want to be just yet, but if we build on this we can surprise some people,” said Shepard.

The Eagles took home the individual places of fourth, fifth, sixth and ninth. Lucas Goodrich (SO/Dexter, Mo.) led the way with a 5km time of 19:10, followed by Ruben Whitney (FR/Fayetteville) and Jack Wafler (SR/Memphis, Tenn.). Whitney finished in fifth with a time of 19:25, while Wafler ran the race in 20:04, good enough for sixth place. Joey Colvert (SR/Bryant)’s time of 21:10 placed him in ninth place for the race.

Karlis Smith (FR/West Memphis) was the fifth finisher for Williams after coming in 12th place with a time of 22:20. Meanwhile, Isaiah Cook (FR/Hoxie) finished in 14th place with a time of 23:44.

This was the first time Whitney, Smith and Cook represented WBU at the collegiate level.