Category: Arkansas Volleyball

Razorbacks lose All-American hitter to Florida State

The second best hitter in Arkansas history will play a final season with the Seminoles.

After four years at Arkansas, all as a starter, while capping her undergraduate years with All-American honors and helping her team to the Elite Eight, Taylor Head is moving on.

The Razorbacks’ outside hitter, third in school history with 1,899 kills, will transfer back to her home state to play for Florida State for a final season of college volleyball. She was granted that season because her freshman year, 2020, was interrupted by COVID-19.

Florida State’s head coach is Chris Poole. He started the volleyball program at Arkansas in 1994 and was the Hogs’ head coach until 2007 when he moved to Tallahassee.

Head, who was named one of Arkansas’ Top 10 athletes of the 2023 calendar year, finished the season second in the SEC in kills with 494.

Arkansas finished the 2023 season with a record 28-6, their best record since 1999.

Jill Gillen, Taylor Head named All-Americans, Hogue honorable mention

Arkansas’ best volleyball season saw three players named All-Americans.

The greatest season in Arkansas volleyball history resulted in some personal honors for the players, as well.

Outside hitters Jill Gillen and Taylor Head were both named All-Americans on Wednesday and setter Hannah Hogue was named All-American honorable mention. Gillen’s and Head’s inclusion marks the first time Arkansas has eer had two players from the same team named to the honor. It’s also the first time since 1998 the Razorbacks have had any player named to the honor.

Gillen, named to the second team, led Arkansas in kills, aces and points. Her career-kill total, 2,075, is the second in school history and she is one of just five players in SEC history to reach the 2,000-kill mark.

Head was right behind her in most stat accumulations. She was second on the team in kills and digs and her career-kill total of 1,537 is fifth in school history while her career-dig total of 1,272 is sixth. Head notched 22 double-doubles in 2023, the most an Arkansas player has had since 1999.

Hogue assisted on 1,413 points in 2023, the second highest total in Division I and the seventh most in a single season in Arkansas history. She was named SEC Setter of the Week five times and her 51 aces were second on the team behind Gillen.

Arkansas finished the year 28-6 overall and 15-3 in SEC play. The Hogs made the Elite Eight for the first time in school history, falling to No. 1 and national powerhouse Nebraska.

Arkansas volleyball season ends in Elite Eight loss to Nebraska

Nebraska ended the Arkansas volleyball team’s terrific postseason run in the Elite Eight on Saturday evening.

Nebraska on its home court was going to be a tough ask for any team in America.

The Arkansas volleyball team fought valiantly, but ultimately couldn’t come up with the victory and ended its season Saturday night in a loss to the Cornhuskers.

Nebraska (32-1) punched its ticket to the Final Four for the 17th time in school history with the 26-24, 25-14, 21-25, 25-23 victory.

It will play Pittsburgh in one national semifinal.

Arkansas (28-6) never backed down in the match and played Nebraska tougher than anyone had played them the entire tournament, but ultimately just came up a bit short.

The Razorbacks defeated Stephen F. Austin, TCU and Kentucky to advance this far.

Arkansas volleyball defeats Kentucky, earns trip to first ever Elite Eight

Arkansas volleyball defeated Kentucky on Wednesday night to advance to the program’s first ever Elite Eight.

For the first time in program history, [autotag]Arkansas volleyball[/autotag] is headed to the Elite Eight. The third-seeded Razorbacks were able to knock off the second-seeded Kentucky Wildcats 3-2 to advance in the NCAA Tournament.

It’s been a season filled with history-making moments and, with the win, they were able to do that once more. It was their first victory over Kentucky since 2012, which is made even more impressive considering that the Wildcats bested the Hogs twice earlier in the season.

On Wednesday night, Arkansas was in for another tough fight, but thanks to graduate senior Jill Gillen’s fantastic performance, this time ended differently.

The Wildcats controlled the majority of the first set and went on to win rather convincingly, 25-22. In the next set, the Hogs were able to jump out to an early lead. Kentucky responded, though, and it was back-and-forth until the very end when the Razorbacks were able to pull away and win the set, 25-22, with a Courtney Jackson ace.

The third set saw Arkansas ride that wave of momentum to a blow-out win, 25-15, giving them a 2-1 lead heading to a fourth frame. Kentucky responded with an early lead, but the Hogs clawed back into it midway through the set. Ultimately, it wasn’t enough as the Wildcats forced a final set.

In the fifth and deciding set, Arkansas would not be denied. They led the entire way as Kentucky could only get within one halfway through. The Hogs would pull away after that, winning the set, 15-10, and the match, 3-2.

Arkansas moves on to face No. 1 overall seed, and host, Nebraska on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. with a trip to the Final Four on the line. ESPNU will broadcast all of the action from Lincoln.

Arkansas will face Kentucky again in NCAA volleyball Sweet 16

Arkansas will try to defeat Kentucky for the first time this season when they meet in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA volleyball tournament.

Although they have dropped the first two matches between the two teams this season, the Arkansas volleyball team will get its third crack a SEC regular-season champion, Kentucky, when they meet again in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

Arkansas (27-5), who tied with Tennessee as conference runner-ups, is playing in just its second Sweet 16 in program history. The anticipated rematch between the No. 3-seeded Razorbacks and No. 2-seeded Wildcats will take place Thursday at 3:30 p.m., in Lincoln, Neb., and will air live on ESPNU.

The Razorbacks swept Stephen F. Austin in the tournament’s first round, then defeated TCU, 3-1, on Saturday to reach the Regional semifinal. Kentucky swept through the first two rounds, with wins over Wofford and Baylor.

The winner of the Arkansas-Kentucky match will move on the face the winner of No. 1-seeded Nebraska and No. 5-seeded Georgia Tech, for a shot to go to the Final Four in Tampa, Fla.

Kentucky (21-7) has won the past seven SEC titles and is quite familiar with NCAA regional play. The Wildcats have reached the round of 16 five times since 2017, including the Wildcats’ 2021 national championship run. Arkansas’ only other trip to the round of 16 ended with a sweep to Hawaii in 1998.

The Razorbacks fell to the Wildcats in five sets on Oct. 22 in Lexington, then were swept by Kentucky at home on Nov. 22.

2023 NCAA Volleyball Tournament Bracket

Arkansas beats TCU, makes Sweet 16 for first time since 1998

The Razorbacks play Kentucky, a team that beat them twice during the regular season, next round.

For the first time in a quarter-century, the Arkansas volleyball team is headed to the Sweet 16.

The Razorbacks beat Texas Christian on Saturday night in Barnhill Arena, 3-1, to advance. Arkansas, the region’s No. 3-seed will next play No. 2-seed Kentucky, an SEC rival for a trip to the Elite Eight. That match will take place in Lincoln, Nebraska, home to the top-seed, UNL.

Taylor Head, Maggie Cartwright, Jill Gillen and Hannah Hogue each had double-doubles against TCU. Head led the team with 19 kills and Hogue had 11 digs to go along with her 43 assists.

Arkansas rolled in the opening match by seven before the teams traded games two and three, with each team winning by just two points. The Hogs put TCU away in the fourth set, 25-20, clinching their spot in the next round on a kill from Head.

The Sweet 16 matchup against Kentucky will be the third meeting between the two teams this season. The Wildcats won both matches, most recently sweeping Arkansas at Barnhill in the penultimate SEC match of the year.

Razorbacks march over Stephen F. Austin in first round of NCAA Tournament

Quick turnaround for Arkansas, which plays TCU at Barnhill Arena on Saturday night for a Sweet 16 berth.

Arkansas volleyball swept its way into the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, knocking out Stephen F. Austin, 3-0.

The Razorbacks, the three-seed in their region, next play Texas Christian. TCU upset No. 6 Florida State, 3-1. Arkansas and the Horned Frogs are set to go at 8 p.m. Saturday night in Barnhill Arena.

Friday’s sweep in Barnhill was significant. It marked the first time NCAA Tournament match inside the arena in 17 years and the victory was the team’s first at home in 25 years.

All-SEC outside hitter Jill Gillen led the team with 19 kills and Maggie Cartwright notched a double-double with 14 kills and 19 digs.

Arkansas rolled in the opening game, 25-8, then handled the second with an eight-point win. The third proved tougher, as Cartwright’s final kill proved the match-winner, 25-23.

The winner of Saturday’s match advances to the Sweet 16.

Arkansas volleyball to host NCAA Tournament for first time since 2006

Arkansas volleyball will be hosting NCAA Tournament action at Barnhill Arena this weekend.

Just like the soccer team, the Arkansas volleyball team will be hosting the NCAA Tournament.

This is the first time since 2006, however.

By virtue of the Razorbacks’ 25-5 season, they earned a 3 seed in the Lincoln, Neb. regional.

Arkansas will host Stephen F. Austin on Friday at 7 p.m. CT. The match preceding it will be TCU and sixth-seeded Florida State.

Winners will play on Saturday afternoon at 7 p.m. as well.

On Sunday, it was announced that Jason Watson was named co-SEC Coach of the Year, while outside hitters Jill Gillen and Taylor Head and setter Hannah Hogue joined him in earning all-SEC honors.

Hogue, a Fort Smith native, was also named Co-SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for her accomplishments in the classroom.

Arkansas ends regular season with win over Auburn

The ninth-ranked Razorbacks finished 25-5 overall to cap their best season since 1999. The NCAA Tournament comes next.

The ninth-ranked Arkansas volleyball finished off its best regular season in almost 25 years on Friday.

With a 3-2 win over Auburn, the Razorbacks reached 25 wins for the first time since 1999. Arkansas’ final regular-season record was 25-5 overall and the team went 15-3 in SEC play, ensuring a finish no worse than third.

Arkansas will be selected to the NCAA Tournament, but the question is at what seed and where. The selection show is Sunday at 5 p.m. and the Razorbacks’ resume suggests Arkansas will host its first two games at Barhhill Arena. Those first two games would be either Thursday and Friday or Friday and Saturday.

To get there, the Hogs have to rally from a 2-1 hole against the Tigers, winning the final set 17-15 to clinch.

Taylor Head scored a team-high 23 kills with 17 digs and Jill Gillen became just the second Arkansas player in school history to reach 2,000 kills when she cracked 16.

Volleyball team rallies to defeat Ole Miss on road

Arkansas volleyball showed the resiliency they’ve displayed all year in a five-set win at Ole Miss on Wednesday.

No. 10 Arkansas put itself into a two-set hole on Wednesday in Ole Miss’ Gillom Arena.

It would’ve been easy to just pack it in and say it wasn’t their night, but that’s not this team’s modus operandi.

The Razorbacks (23-4, 13-2) came roaring back to sweep the next three sets (25-21, 25-15, 15-8) and escape with a 3-2 victory.

Jill Gillen had a match-high 24 kills from her outside hitter position and Taylor Head contributed 17, while Head had 17 digs and Gillen 16 to tally double-doubles.

Ole Miss was led in kills by Julia Dyess, who had 19.

Arkansas, who is a half game behind SEC leader Kentucky and a half game ahead of Tennessee, will next be in action on Sunday in Barnhill Arena against No. 20 Florida.

Next Wednesday they will host Kentucky and then close the regular season Nov. 24 against Auburn.