Volleyball set for home opener at Barnhill Arena
Nic Schluterman
Issue date: 9/10/08 Section: Sports
After opening the season with two weekends on the road, the Arkansas women's volleyball team returns home tonight for the first Barnhill match of the Robert Pulliza era.
The Razorbacks dropped their first 15 sets of the season to fall to 0-5 for the first time in program history, but Pulliza found his first win as head coach with a sweep of Georgia State last Sunday.
The new Hog boss hopes the team tallies game two of the winning streak tonight at 6 p.m. against Tulsa (5-1).
"We are excited to finally be home after two long weeks," Pulliza said. "We are hoping for great fan support tonight."
Pulliza, just the second head volleyball coach in Arkansas history, is not the only new blood on the team.
Of the four Razorbacks who have played in every frame so far this year, two are freshmen.
Kelli Stipanovich leads the team in kills in her first college season.
Redshirt freshman Phoebe Bautista is Arkansas' leading defensive presence.
A pair of sophomores also comprises the youth movement in Fayetteville.
Heather Royal is second on the team in both digs and kills this year, and fellow second-year hitter Hillary McCormick was one of the offensive bright spots for the Hogs last weekend in an Atlanta tournament.
"I am really excited to see some of the young players step up," Pulliza said.
While the younger players fill their roles, the team misses its senior leader Christina Lawrence, who suffered an abdominal strain in the preseason and is described as "day-to-day."
Pulliza has called on junior Destiny Clark to shift to the middle and fill the void left by Lawrence's absence.
Clark responded with a performance worthy of an all-tournament selection last weekend.
"[Destiny] really bounced from the week before," Pulliza said. "She had a great attitude throughout the week. That's the Destiny Clark I remember from coaching against her [at Kentucky.]"
Arkansas faces an opponent tonight in Tulsa to which they have never lost in five tries. This time, the odds might be different.
The Razorbacks dropped their first 15 sets of the season to fall to 0-5 for the first time in program history, but Pulliza found his first win as head coach with a sweep of Georgia State last Sunday.
The new Hog boss hopes the team tallies game two of the winning streak tonight at 6 p.m. against Tulsa (5-1).
"We are excited to finally be home after two long weeks," Pulliza said. "We are hoping for great fan support tonight."
Pulliza, just the second head volleyball coach in Arkansas history, is not the only new blood on the team.
Of the four Razorbacks who have played in every frame so far this year, two are freshmen.
Kelli Stipanovich leads the team in kills in her first college season.
Redshirt freshman Phoebe Bautista is Arkansas' leading defensive presence.
A pair of sophomores also comprises the youth movement in Fayetteville.
Heather Royal is second on the team in both digs and kills this year, and fellow second-year hitter Hillary McCormick was one of the offensive bright spots for the Hogs last weekend in an Atlanta tournament.
"I am really excited to see some of the young players step up," Pulliza said.
While the younger players fill their roles, the team misses its senior leader Christina Lawrence, who suffered an abdominal strain in the preseason and is described as "day-to-day."
Pulliza has called on junior Destiny Clark to shift to the middle and fill the void left by Lawrence's absence.
Clark responded with a performance worthy of an all-tournament selection last weekend.
"[Destiny] really bounced from the week before," Pulliza said. "She had a great attitude throughout the week. That's the Destiny Clark I remember from coaching against her [at Kentucky.]"
Arkansas faces an opponent tonight in Tulsa to which they have never lost in five tries. This time, the odds might be different.
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