Nov. 11, 2011
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A stellar performance from senior middle blocker Teresa Stenlund could not lead South Carolina (12-14, 3-13 SEC) past Arkansas (18-9, 10-6 SEC), as the Razorbacks claimed the sweep 25-16, 25-15, 25-22 in front of 968 fans in Barnhill Arena on Friday night.
Stenlund tallied a career-best 15 kills and hit a season-high .636 in the Gamecock loss. Sophomores Paige Wheeler and Juliette Thévenin both recorded 12 digs.
The Razorbacks’ Jasmine Norton posted 14 kills, while Kelli Stipanovich added 11 kills for Arkansas. Amanda Anderson posted 10 kills on a .625 hitting percentage without an error. Christa Alvarez had 15 digs and six assists, while Raymariely Santos posted a double-double with 34 assists and 14 digs.
Arkansas claimed the first set 25-16 behind three big runs. The hosts started the match with a four-point run and grew the lead to 15-7 with a seven-point stand that included three kills by Norton. A four-point skein powered by two Stipanovich kills pushed the Arkansas lead to 10. Santos’s swing ended the set at 25-16. The Razorbacks hit .429 in the set, with Norton, Stipanovich and Roslandy Acosta all recording four kills. Freshman outside hitter Hanna Forst and Stenlund led the Gamecocks with five kills each in the first, while Wheeler had eight digs in the frame.
Another big run powered the Razorbacks to a 25-15 set-two win. South Carolina got out to a 5-2 lead, with four-different Gamecocks recording kills. But Arkansas reeled off a 9-1 run to claim the lead for good at 11-6. Norton had four kills in the stretch. South Carolina got within three once before the Razorbacks closed it at 25-15 with another Norton kill. She had seven kills in nine swings. Arkansas did not commit an attacking error in the frame, hitting .536. South Carolina’s middle blockers Stenlund and sophomore Megan Kent combined to tally seven of the team’s 12 kills in the second.
A tight third set went to Arkansas in the end, 25-22. South Carolina took a 12-7 advantage after Stenlund powered a 5-1 run with three kills and a block assist. The Hogs answered with a mirror image of the Gamecocks’ run, with Kasey Heckelman posting a kill, a solo block and a block assist in the stand that knotted things at 13-13. South Carolina held a 17-15 lead after kills from Thévenin and freshman setter Lexie Pawlik, but Arkansas answered with three-straight kills to take the 18-17 lead. The teams stayed within a point of each other until a Razorback three-point skein put them to set point at 24-22. Norton put one final kill away in the seam to end the frame and match, 25-22. Stipanovich had five kills and Anderson four in the final set for Arkansas. Stenlund posted six kills on seven swings in the frame for South Carolina.
Arkansas posted a 9-1 advantage in blocks and claimed all the stat categories, including a .430-.230 lead in hitting. The Razorbacks had only four attack errors in the contest.
South Carolina closes the road trip on Sunday at LSU, with first serve scheduled for 1:30 p.m. CST at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
