The University of Arkansas volleyball team continues Southeastern Conference play hosting Mississippi State in a 1: 30 p. m. match Sunday in Barnhill Arena.

Arkansas (4-12, 1-5 SEC ) is coming off a four-set loss to Alabama Friday while the Bulldogs (6-11, -15 SEC ) lost at Ole Miss.

“ Mississippi State is in the same boat as we are, ” Arkansas coach Robert Pulliza said. “ They lost a lot of players from last year. This is going to come down to who can be the most consistent for the entire match. ”

Arkansas has battled well in most of its matches but the Razorbacks have struggled with stringing together an entire match.

ADVERTISEMENT

Against Alabama, Arkansas opened hitting. 239 in the first set but saw their numbers drop to. 143 in the second frame. The Razorbacks rebounded, hitting a match-high. 364 to win the third set. But a. 029 mark in the final set secured the Alabama win.

In a couple of areas Arkansas has found consistency has been in the play of senior Christina Lawrence and freshman Kelli Stipanovich.

Lawrence, a Sullivan, Mo., native, has strung together seven consecutive matches with double-digit kills and Stipanovich has had 10 in a row.

“ Christina and Kelli’s offense has been good, ” Pulliza said. “ But we need more balance as a team. We need to put together a complete match to get the win. ”

The Razorbacks host Mississippi State today and then hit the road for three consecutive road matches at Kentucky, Tennessee and Ole Miss as Arkansas makes its way through the first half of the SEC schedule.

For more information about Arkansas volleyball, log on to ArkansasRazorbacks. com.