David Versus Goliath, Razorback Volleyball Takes Part in Historic Week

Hogs volleyball hosts number one ranked team for the first time in 13 years

Daniel Shi | Aug 30, 2023

David Versus Goliath, Razorback Volleyball Takes Part in Historic Week /

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Arkansas Razorbacks

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — "It's a wonderful time to be a volleyball fan." Arkansas head coach Jason Watson said. "It's a really hard time to be a volleyball coach. Everybody is good."

On the same weekend Nebraska Volleyball attempts to set a record for the most fans to ever attend a female sporting event, Barnhill Arena will play host to the top-ranked team in the country, Wisconsin, on Wednesday and Thursday at 7 p.m.

"Only growth can come from this," Watson said. "For our program, It's considerable growth given where we started and where we are now that a program like Wisconsin would even consider coming to Fayetteville."

And what a program it is, under coach Kelly Sheffield, the Badgers are four-time defending Big Ten Champions and won a national title in 2021. Wisconsin is so good, that Arkansas was one of the only teams willing to take on the challenge of playing them this early in the season.

"We were fortunate Arkansas was open to doing this. We couldn't find anyone to play week two," Sheffield said in a press conference. "Another team that was coming to their tournament (Razorback Classic) had no interest in playing us."

When Watson took over as head coach in 2016, the Razorbacks had not had a winning record in conference play since 2012 and hadn't won an NCAA Tournament game since 2005.

“I don’t have all the answers,” Watson said shortly after he was hired. “But I’m committed to finding out better ways of doing things and finding answers to questions.”

Fast forward to now, the Razorbacks opened the season ranked for the first time since 1999 and beat Utah State in the opening round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Watson knows that now's the time for the Razorbacks and the conference as a whole to see if they can hang with a program like Wisconsin.

If SEC Volleyball is to become what we all hope it to be, then we've got to go play the marquee teams in marquee conferences," Watson said. "We have to not be afraid to go play them... The result will be the result."

The sentiment is echoed by the athletes, who are ready to go after the Badgers without looking back.

"Our team is really excited to be able to play such a team at a high caliber," junior middle blocker Sania Petties said. "We're just really ready to go out there, really no nerves, just excitement."

Regardless of the result, Arkansas volleyball has gone from 9-21 in Watson's first season to in with a shot at beating the top team in the country. A testament to both Watson and the growth of the sport of volleyball.

No. 1 Wisconsin at No. 21 Arkansas

Location: Barnhill Arena, Fayetteville, Ark.

Date: Thursday, Aug. 31

Time: 7 p.m. CT

TV Channel: ESPNU

Live Stream: fuboTV (Start your free trial)