Arkansas
Merritt Beason goes up for a serve in the Gator volleyball team's match against the Auburn Tigers on Wednesday. Photo from @GatorsVB on Twitter.

Volleyball Hosts Arkansas for Two-Match Series

The No. 14 Florida volleyball team hosts the Arkansas Razorbacks this weekend for a two-match series.

Florida Gators

The Gators are coming off a sweep over SEC rival Auburn Wednesday night. With the win over the Tigers, Florida took sole possession of the top spot in the SEC rankings. The Gators are now 16-4 overall and 8-2 in the SEC.

https://twitter.com/GatorsVB/status/1585453538875932672?s=20&t=21ZTgmEQOt838Cv_MPw8UQ

Florida’s offense was led by Merritt Beason and Sofia Victoria who recorded 14 kills each. Also, Marina Markova tallied 11 kills, while Bre Kelley recorded five. On defense, Gabrielle Essix put up five blocks which was a team record.

With just a month left in the season, the Gators will look to hold the top spot in the conference before the SEC tournament begins.

Arkansas Razorbacks

Arkansas enters this two-match series with a three-game win streak under its belt.

The Razorbacks are coming off a hard fought win against Texas A&M. Arkansas won the first two sets of the game, but the Aggies rallied and forced a match deciding fifth set. The Razorbacks came out victorious, earning their 14th win of the season.

Notably, Maggie Cartwright had a career high 21 kills to lead the Razorbacks to victory.

https://twitter.com/RazorbackVB/status/1582932420679987200?s=20&t=2H7CnqZ0MBoCZpHyxkY0vQ

With this result, the Razorbacks improved their record to 14-5 overall and 5-4 in the SEC. The team sits at seventh in the SEC rankings.

The Matchup

This weekend’s series is the 52nd meeting between the two teams. Florida leads with a dominating 48-3 record over the Razorbacks.

Both teams, coming off respective wins, will look to stay in the win column. The Gators will hope to maintain the top spot in the SEC rankings.

Saturday’s match is set to start at 1 p.m., and Sunday’s game begins at noon.

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