Razorbacks Miss Major Opportunity for Upset; Lose Five-Set Thriller

Wisconsin's never-say-die attitude too much for Arkansas to handle in front of record crowd

Daniel Shi | Aug 31, 2023

Razorbacks Miss Major Opportunity for Upset; Lose Five-Set Thriller /

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Arkansas Razorbacks

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Not quite 92,000 (like Nebraska had in the football stadium), but a school record 4,299 fans were out in full force at Barnhill Arena to see the Razorbacks play the top volleyball team in the nation.

Arkansas came within two points from pulling off a shocking upset over No. 1-ranked Wisconsin, but coach John Watson categorized it as more of a painful loss than anything else. Still, the match put in perspective just how far his program come since his first year.

"I had a little moment before the match," Watson said. "I got a little emotional. Eight years ago, we were playing in front of a couple of season ticket holders and parents. Tonight, Eight years later we're going toe-to-toe with the number one team in the country in front of 4,000 people."

The Razorbacks sent a clear message early that the two-night stand in Fayetteville will be a tough one for the nation's top team. Back-to-back kills to start the night from graduate outside hitter Jillian Gillen set the tone from the jump. If the Badgers thought they would have a walk in the park, that was all but extinguished. Two aces from senior outside hitter Taylor Head gave Arkansas the first bit of separation at 11-8.

Although Arkansas never truly pulled away, it was a lead that they wouldn't give back. Arkansas kept Wisconsin at bay throughout the set, a key block from sophomore middle blocker Zoi Evans preserved a two-point lead at 14-12.

An ace from recently crowned SEC setter of the week Hannah Hogue got the Razorbacks to 20-17. The teams traded side-outs until back-to-back Kills from Head and junior middle blocker Sania Petties put away the opening stanza 25-21. The always stoic Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield called timeout just before set point, but it was too little too late.

The start of the second set was more of the same. Timely aces and kills pushed Arkansas out front again. A tough dig by junior libero Courtney Jackson put the Razorbacks up 7-4. A few moments later a Hogue kill pushed the lead to 13-8. It took a set and a half, but Wisconsin finally began to show why they have compiled a 264-56 record under Sheffield in 11 seasons. A 6-0 scoring from the Badgers turned a 14-11 deficit into a 17-14 lead as Wisconsin's hitting finally got in sync. The Razorbacks could never quite recover from their slight dip in form as Wisconsin leveled, taking the second set 25-20.

Arkansas came out a new bunch with more energy to start the third. A Cartwright block keyed a 6-0 scoring run that put Arkansas up early again for the third set in a row.

Deja vu threatened to strike again as Wisconsin responded with a quick 5-0 scoring run of their own. Watson called a timeout to get the Razorbacks back in line. Arkansas looked to be well on their way to a 2-1 lead with serving and hitting from their team's biggest stars. Cartwright's ace stretched the lead back to six at 21-15.

Gillen's 14th kill of the night set up four set points for the Razorbacks, yet, Arkansas could not find the coup de grâce to put the set away. A mishmash of errors coupled with great play from two-time All-Big Ten middle blocker saw each set point slowly wither away as the Badgers finished the set on a 6-0 run to steal the set 26-24.

"That set that got away from us, maybe will haunt us a little bit," Watson said.

If Arkansas was dejected from losing the third, they certainly didn't show it. Some of the 1,000+ students slowly started to filter out. The biggest thing to cheer about after the emotional drop was Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman, who was in attendance, being shown on the big screen.

The fourth set followed a similar pattern to the first three. After not much to separate the two squads, Arkansas gave themselves breathing space to navigate Wisconsin's relentless attack. Two 3-0 scoring runs at 8-7 and 13-11, once again put the Razorbacks up five midways through the set. Head and Gillen continued their brilliant night, combining for 37 kills.

A timely kill by Petties at 19-14 made stopped potential Wisconsin momentum from brewing again. This time when Arkansas arrived at set point, Cartwright made no mistake of the kill, winning the set 25-22 and setting up a race to 15 shootout.

With the energy fully restored in Barnhill, Arkansas came out swinging in the final set, taking the first two points with help from a Badger service error. Wisconsin, like they'd done so many times in the match already showed no panic. Badger middle blocker Caroline Crawford stuffed Petties. 2021 NCAA Tournament MVP Anna Smrek followed with a kill to give Wisconsin a two-point advantage.

Both teams exchanged two side-outs as the tension continued to build. At 13-13, Head was stuffed for only the sixth time all night to bring up a match point for the Badgers.

Wisconsin looked to have won the match with an error from Arkansas, but the point was called back after replay and a lengthy discussion. On the second attempt, Wisconsin left no doubt, emphatically pounding the ball into the ground and closing the curtain on a five-set thriller that lasted 2 hours and 50 minutes.

Watson knows that despite coming up short, the match experience will pay dividends.

"I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow," Watson said. "I know we're learning a ton early in the season of what we need to do. These lessons are so important when we get to the tournament. That's the thing we learned last year."

The two teams will be right back at it again to conclude the two-game set tomorrow at Barnhill.

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)