Razorback volleyball completes 3-0 sweep in New York City tourney
The No. 16 Arkansas volleyball team finished off their non-conference slate with its eighth straight match victory Saturday, sweeping Bryant in straight sets, 25-19, 25-11 and 25-19.
The Hogs went 3-0 in New York’s Red Storm Invitation and will now take a 10-2 record into SEC conference play this week. The Hogs lone two losses came at the hands on No. 1 Wisconsin two weeks ago.
Graduate outside-hitter Maggie Cartwright was named tournament MVP after completing her successful weekend with 12 kills against the Bulldogs. Graduate Jill Gillen and senior Taylor Head each finished with 13 kills, and both had great days at the service line, with four and three aces, respectively.
Graduate transfer middle-blocker Laura Ehieze made her first start for the Hogs, and had a team-high four blocks.
After playing from behind for the first half of the opening set, a 5-1 run shifted the momentum, highlighted by two kills and an ace from Gillen. The Hogs eventually took a 13-12 lead, but Bryant came back to tie it three times. Ehieze added her second kill, as the Razorbacks followed with three straight points, including two kills from Cartwright, to win the set.
Arkansas shot out to a 9-1 lead in the second set, aided by three aces from Gillen. A three-point Razorback then made it 18-8, as they rode a 53.8 hitting percent to win the set.
After the Bulldogs grabbed the early lead in the third, Arkansas put together an eight-point run, capped off with a kill by Head for the 10-4 advantage. A late Bulldogs error then helped Arkansas secured the sweep.
The Hogs open conference play this week with matches at home against South Carolina on Friday at 7 p.m., before hosting Texas A&M on Sunday at 3 p.m.
