FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas volleyball coach Robert Pulliza thought his team was a little too comfortable going into last weekend's Creighton Classic and the host team knocked the Razorbacks right out of their comfort zone, beating them in three sets Friday evening.
However, Arkansas responded the next day with a pair of big five-set victories, including taking down No. 11 Wisconsin.
At A Glance
AVCA Top 25 Poll
Rank^School
1^Penn State
2^Texas
3^Southern California
4^Nebraska
5^Florida
6^Washington
7^Arizona State
8^Stanford
9^Illinois
10^BYU
11^Hawaii
12^Ohio State
13^UCLA
14^Arizona
15^Kansas
16^Wisconsin
17^Florida State
Florida State
18^Oregon
19^Colorado State
20^Purdue
21^Minnesota
22^Michigan
23^Pacific
24^Kentucky
Kentucky
25^Long Beach State
Others receiving votes and listed on two or more ballots: SMU 63; Wyoming 55; Western Kentucky 47; North Carolina 36; Michigan State 33; Iowa 24; Texas A&M 21; Arkansas 16; San Diego 12; Colorado 10; San Francisco 7; Creighton 4
Upcoming Schedule
Wednesday
Arkansas at LSU, 8 p.m. ESPNU
Sunday
Arkansas at Texas A&M, 1:30 p.m.
The Razorbacks (10-2) received 16 points in the latest American Volleyball Coaches' Association Top 25 poll thanks to that strong finish. They also defeated Kansas State, which was No. 26 in the country last week.
"I was a little concerned going into the weekend," Pulliza said. "Creighton just came at us and we couldn't get ourselves rolling. It woke us up. They knew we had an opportunity to bounce back and they showed who we are."
Arkansas had won six consecutive matches, dropping only one set in that span before losing to Creighton.
Pulliza pointed out many different players made key contributions in the wins, but senior middle blocker Chanell Clark-Bibbs, a preseason All-Southeastern Conference selection, earned all-tournament honors by averaging 3.85 kills per set and hitting .443 in the three matches to go with 17 total blocks. The 6-foot-1 middle blocker also tallied a career-high 24 kills and hit .556 in the win over Wisconsin. She earned all-tournament honors in each of the four events Arkansas has played in this season.
"She's a big-timer," Pulliza said. "She's certainly playing like a senior and a captain."
Freshman Okiana Valle, who took over at the libero position after the first weekend, anchored the Arkansas defense and also contributed to the efficient offense with her passing. She averaged 3.92 digs per set for the weekend, including 26 in the win over Kansas State.
Valle's effort earned her Southeastern Conference Freshman and Player of the Week honors. Pulliza said Valle, who played for the Puerto Rican Junior National Team, has adapted quickly.
"Especially coming from another country," Pulliza said. "Getting used to the language, the academic structure and the speed of the college game. She has done a good job settling into that position and that's helped us with our serve receive."
The Razorbacks open SEC play with a pair of road games this week, beginning at LSU (4-7) on Wednesday. They play Texas A&M (7-4) on Sunday afternoon, before returning home to host No. 5 Florida on Oct. 4. Both LSU and Texas A&M made the NCAA tournament a year ago and the Aggies started the season in the national poll.
Sports on 09/22/2015