Fourth-ranked Bentonville West lost to the defending state champions in Oklahoma, Owasso, 56-40 on Friday night.
Here are photos from the game, including Razorback targets Kendall Young and wide receiver Jadon Jackson.
Photos by Andy Hodges | HitThatLine.com
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas junior Marissa Kinsey recorded her first career brace, scoring in the 57th minute and 86th minute, to lead the Razorback soccer team to a 2-0 win over Nebraska-Omaha.
The match was the Razorbacks’ home opener of the 2018 season and Arkansas improves to 2-0-1. Nebraska-Omaha falls to 0-2-1.
Kinsey, a transfer from Baylor, scored her first goal of the match off an attempted clearance from the keeper.
Kinsey redirected the ball into the back of the net for the 1-nil lead. Kinsey was not done for the night as her second goal not only secured the win, it was her first career brace off an assist from Parker Goins.
With the win tonight, Arkansas has won nine out the last 10 in home openers, dating back to 2009, and head coach Colby Hale’s third in the last four years.
Kinsey is the first Razorback to score two goals in a match since Stefani Doyle at Providence last year (Sept. 10, 2017).
From Head Coach Colby Hale
“We were good in some areas tonight. I thought we were much better in the second half than we were in the first. There might have been some nerves in the first half being that this was the first home game, but they were pretty amped up. We’re not conceding a lot of shots so far this year, as well as goals. On the attacking end, we probably need to fix a few things. Overall, winning in college is not easy and we were able to win tonight.”
From Marissa Kinsey
“I had been playing her (UNO goalkeeper) in a few times. I noticed she put the ball down as was looking up at the field and losing sight of the ball. A couple times after that I was trying to figure out when was a good time to go after it. When I finally got it, I got a little lucky. It was an effort play.” – Marissa Kinsey on her first goal
“Our whole team just grinds it out. We do whatever it takes to win. We’re an effort and hard-working team. We’re just taking small windows of opportunities and trying to capitalize.” – Marissa Kinsey on the team’s effort tonight
How It Went Down
4th minute – Arkansas nearly got one on the board quickly after the start of the match as Taylor Malham’s header from near point-blank range just missed getting by the keeper. Much of the first half was a possession battle, but Arkansas held the shot advantage 14-1 after the first 45 minutes.
57th minute – Kinsey lit up the scoreboard on her heads-up play 12 minutes into the second half when Omaha’s keeper was trying to clear the ball away. Kinsey raced back to the attacking end and was able to deflect the ball past Ina Gudjonsdottir to put the Hogs up 1-0.
86th minute – Kinsey secured her brace with four minutes to go in the match after sophomore Parker Goins set up a perfect cross from the left side. Kinsey one-timed the shot past the final defender and the keeper to double the lead.
Other Key Notes
• Sophomore goalkeeper Rachel Harris picked up her second win in three matches, making two saves for her second shutout of the season.
• For the second time this year, the Arkansas defense allowed two shots or less as Omaha only managed the two attempts on Friday, one in each half.
• Taylor Malham was on target for four of her five shots in Friday’s win.
• After leading the team with 25 points a year ago, sophomore Parker Goins picked up her first point of the 2018 season tonight, earning the assist on Marissa Kinsey’s second goal.
Up Next
Arkansas goes back on the road for its next match when it travels to McNeese State on Sunday for a 4 p.m. first kick. The match will be televised by Cox Sports and ESPN+.
FAYETTEVILLE — For the fourth time in the past six meeting between Arkansas and Kansas, the winner was decided in five sets but, unfortunately for the Razorbacks, the visiting Jayhawks came away with the victory Friday night at Barnhill Arena.
Sophomore Hailey Dirrigl led all players with 18 kills while sophomore co-captain Elizabeth Pamphile tallied a career-high nine total blocks.
The two teams will turn around and face off again Sunday afternoon, this time in Lawrence. First serve of the rematch is set for 1 p.m. (CT) at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center. The match will be streamed on ESPN+ through the WatchESPN app.
FINAL
Kansas 3, Arkansas 2 (21-25, 23-25, 25-20, 27-25, 15-8) | Box Score
Attendance: 1,129 | Time: 2:48
Barnhill Arena (Fayetteville, Ark.)
#RazorStats
• Stat leaders vs Kansas
• Kills: Hailey Dirrigl – 18
• Digs: Okiana Valle – 24
• Blocks: Elizabeth Pamphile – 9.0 (1-8)
• Six of the 12 all-time meetings between Arkansas and Kansas have gone five sets including four of the past six
Senior Kelly O’Brien joined Dirrigl in double figures with a career-high 13 kills, surpassing her previous best of seven kills in a road match at LSU last season.
Fellow senior Okiana Valle began her final season with her 19th-career outing with at least 20 kills, finishing Friday’s match with 24 digs. She also contributed seven assists from her libero position.
Pamphile added nine kills to her defensive showing at the net. Junior setter Rachel Rippee, and fellow co-captain, registered 44 assists and nine digs to finish just one dig shy of the 20th double-double of her career.
She also chipped in with four kills and four total blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Logan Brown added nine kills against the Jayhawks.
The Razorbacks jumped out to a 2-0 match lead before Kansas avoided the sweep by taking the third set. In the fourth, the teams traded blows in a set that was tied 11 times.
Arkansas saved a set point at 24-23 and had a match point at 25-24 on a Dirrigl-Pamphile tandem block. However, the Jayhawks rattled off the next three points to win the set and force the decisive frame.
In a back-and-forth start to the fifth set, Arkansas and Kansas battled through five early ties and were tied at 7-7. However, the visiting Jayhawks won eight of the last nine points of the match to complete the rally.
8 days til @RazorbackFB ? pic.twitter.com/thcZeYOMY9
— Tye Richardson (@TyeSportsRadio) August 24, 2018
T-DUBBBBBBBBB
Photo Credit: Beth Hall-USA TODAY Sports
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas announced the Razorbacks’ 2019 men’s basketball conference schedule Friday.
It was also announced that Arkansas will travel to Texas Tech for this year’s Big 12-SEC Challenge.
No Place Like Home, Especially on SEC Saturdays
For the second straight year, Arkansas will play five Saturday SEC games in Bud Walton Arena, including each of the Razorbacks’ last four home games of the regular season. Arkansas is an impressive 25-5 in Saturday SEC home games under eighth-year coach Mike Anderson, including a streak of nine consecutive wins.
While Arkansas will open SEC play at Texas A&M on Jan. 5, the Razorbacks will play its first home game of the 2019 SEC season on Jan. 9 as Florida comes to Bud Walton Arena. Arkansas will turn around to host LSU on Jan. 12 for the first of five Saturday home league games.
Other SEC home games include:
Missouri (Jan. 23 / Wednesday)
Georgia (Jan. 29 / Tuesday)
Vanderbilt (Feb. 5 / Tuesday)
Mississippi State (Feb. 16 / Saturday)
Texas A&M (Feb. 23 / Saturday)
Ole Miss (Mar. 2 / Saturday)
Alabama (Mar. 9 / Saturday)
Postseason Teams at Every Turn
Arkansas, one of the record-setting eight SEC teams to reach the NCAA Tournament last season, will welcome fellow NCAA Tournament teams Alabama, Florida, Missouri and Texas A&M while Mississippi State reached the semifinal of the NIT last season.
The nine road games will be just a daunting as Arkansas will have to travel to NCAA Tournament teams Texas A&M, Tennessee, Missouri, Auburn and Kentucky as well as play at NIT participant LSU.
Familiar Foe in the Big 12/SEC Challenge
The SEC also announced the matchups for the annual Big 12/SEC Challenge. On Jan. 26, Arkansas will travel to Texas Tech, which reached the Elite 8 last season before falling to eventual national champion, Villanova.
In the 78 previous meetings with the Red Raiders, Arkansas and Texas Tech are all square with each team winning 39 contests in the series. The last time the teams met, which was in the 2016 edition of the Big 12/SEC Challenge, Razorbacks won, 75-68, in overtime. Arkansas has won five of the last six in the series with TTU and 11 of the last 15.
Arkansas will be playing in its fifth consecutive Big 12/SEC Challenge. The Razorbacks are 2-2 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge with wins over Texas Tech (2016) and Oklahoma State (2018). Arkansas lost at Iowa State in 2015 and at Oklahoma State in 2017.
Season Tickets
Tickets for the 2018-19 men’s basketball season are on sale now and can be purchased by calling the Razorback Ticket Center at 1-800-982-4647 or online by clicking here.
SEC Tournament Returns to Bridgestone Arena
After a one-year hiatus, the SEC Tournament will return to downtown Nashville at Bridgestone Arena. The event has been contested there seven times over the last 18 years and, including this season, will be the home of the SEC Championship for six of the next seven years.
Two of the last three times the SEC Tournament was held in Bridgestone Arena, Arkansas was runner-up (2015 and 2017).
2019 Men’s Basketball SEC Schedule
Tyler Wilson joins John and Tommy to hit on his former plays, problems in college football and interview former Hog Raymond House III.
Photo Credit: Beth Hall-USA TODAY Sports
Offensive coordinator Joe Craddock made it clear Wednesday there are six quarterbacks … he even mentioned walk-on Jack Lindsey without saying anything about just holding.
That includes John Stephen Jones, who is quietly having a good start to fall camp, according to everyone we’ve talked to.
Now don’t misunderstand that. In no way is that a prediction of him being the starter next Saturday against Eastern Illinois. In fact, I wouldn’t make a prediction on anybody when it comes to who will take the first snaps.
In the limited availability we’ve had, he has looked as good as the others. Every single one of them has done some really good things we’ve seen. Others have drilled passes into the ground or overthrown receivers by a country mile.
All of which is why Craddock and Chad Morris seem perplexed at times over the lack of anyone separating himself from the others.
And it’s also why Jones and fellow freshman Connor Noland are still in the mix.
Too many people, including several of the national talking dunderheads, think this is a passing offense. I will not be surprised if there’s far less passing in this offense than what we have seen the last two years.
Don’t discount Jones. Craddock was seen Wednesday working with him on technical things. Not in a negative manner, either. The day before we saw Craddock go off on the entire offense and at one point had guard Kirby Adcock doing up-downs beside him.
“I had to re-focus him,” was how Cradock described it Wednesday.
Some have referred to Jones as a midget, which is not totally off-base from a visual standpoint when the 5-11 quarterback is standing next to 6-foot-7 Cole Kelley.
In reality, though, height doesn’t seem to be a big deal in winning college football games these days. Jones is the same height as Drew Brees, Johnny Manziel and just a shade shorter than Shea Patterson. He’s considerably taller than Doug Flutie.
I’m not basing it on what’s in the program … those are the ones I’ve stood next to and when it comes to that height range it’s easy for me to judge.
Baker Mayfield is another one. He’s shrunk nearly two inches since being a freshman at Texas Tech, where he was listed at 6-foot-2, then 6-1 at Oklahoma and under 6-1 at the NFL Combine. The Browns have rounded him back up to 6-1, but he might be just a shade over 6-0 from folks I know that have seen him up close.
No, height won’t be a factor with Jones.
Don’t give me that about quarterbacks taking a beating playing in the SEC. Not anymore. With the rules favoring offense nowadays, you just about can’t breathe hard on the quarterback anymore.
I’m trying to remember the last time a diminutive quarterback got beat to death and I’d have to go back over 30 years. In fact, most quarterbacks these days get hurt running down the field or getting twisted and it happens more to the bigger guys, it seems.
The guess here is Craddock and Morris are looking for the quarterback that makes the most plays. Whether that be with his feet or arm is probably not relevant.
It’s who makes decisions after the ball is snapped quickly and correctly. From the limited looks we’ve had in the media, Jones appears to be near the top in that area.
For that you don’t need height.
Which is why you shouldn’t discount Jones being prominent in the mix.
But nobody knows anything for sure.
And that may be the way Morris wants it, too.
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas opens the home portion of its schedule Friday night when it hosts Omaha at 7 p.m. at Razorback Field.
Following their match with the Mavericks, the team will hit the road south to take on McNeese State on Sunday at 4 p.m. in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
The match with the Cowgirls will be broadcast on Cox Sports and ESPN+.
Match Three Info
Opponent: Omaha Mavericks
Date: Friday, Aug. 24
First Kick: 7 p.m.
Live Stats: ArkansasRazorbacks.com
TV: None
Match Four Info
Opponent: McNeese St.
Location: Lake Charles, La.
Date: Sunday, Aug. 26
First Kick: 4 p.m.
Live Stats: McNeeseSports.com
TV: Cox Sports and ESPN+
Arkansas (1-0-1), fresh off its undefeated weekend at the Penn State Invitational, will be going for its ninth home-opening victory in the last 10 years.
Last week, the Razorbacks earned a season-opening shutout of Duquesne and then a draw with then-No. 9 West Virginia.
Junior Kayla McKeon provided the game-winner against the Dukes, while it was fellow junior Stefani Doyle who found the back of the net against the Mountaineers. Arkansas’ defense, however, was the story in both results.
For the first time in program history, Arkansas did not concede a single shot when Duquesne was unable to make an attempt last Friday. The Dukes only took two corners in the entire match as possession was kept heavily in Arkansas’ favor all afternoon.
As for the Mountaineers, sophomore goalkeeper Rachel Harris made a career-high nine saves and the only West Virginia goal came on a penalty kick in the 61st minute.
Arkansas will look to continue its hot start defensively when it takes on Omaha and McNeese State. This weekend’s matches will be the first regular-season meetings between the two programs.
Tickets are available via the Razorback Ticket Office starting at $5 with kids 17 or younger getting in free. Fans can also buy season tickets for $25 and will receive a free 2018 Razorback Soccer scarf with their purchase.
Quick Kicks
• Arkansas opens its 2018 home schedule with Omaha on Friday night at Razorback Field. It will be the first time the Razorbacks and Mavericks have faced off in their programs’ histories.
• After Friday’s match, Arkansas goes back on the road to Lake Charles, Louisiana to take on McNeese State on Sunday. This will also be the first meeting between the two programs.
• The Razorbacks have come out victorious in eight of their last nine home openers dating back to 2009. Under Colby Hale, the Hogs have won five of their six home openers.
• In its last seven matches against top-10 opponents going back to 2016, Arkansas has won or tied four times. Sunday’s match against West Virginia was its second-straight result over a top-10 team.
• Sophomore goalkeeper Rachel Harris got the start in both matches last week and made a career-high nine saves in 96 minutes against the Mountaineers.
• Senior Carly Hoke and sophomore Haley VanFossen played all 110 minutes against West Virginia last week. For Hoke, it was the third time in her career she’s played the maximum amount of minutes in a match.
• The 1-0 shutout of Duquesne was the first season-opening clean sheet by a Razorback team since 2013 when it defeated Kansas, 1-0, on August 23.
• On Friday, Duquesne was not able to register a single shot in 90 minutes of play against Arkansas. It was the first time in program history an Arkansas team did not concede a shot in a match.
• The shutout over the Dukes was Arkansas’ sixth-straight victory via shutout going back to Oct. 5, 2017.
• Carly Hoke was named the SEC Defender of the Week on Monday after helping Arkansas to an undefeated weekend against Duquesne and No. 9 West Virginia. Hoke was in her first action since suffering a season-ending knee injury last year against Vanderbilt (Sept. 21).
• Juniors Kayla McKeon and Stefani Doyle provided both goals in last week’s matches. McKeon and Doyle combined for nine of Arkansas’ 44 goals a year ago. McKeon has scored a goal in two of three season-openers in her career.
• In Friday’s win over Duquesne, sophomore Brooke Pirkle logged a career-high 76 minutes in the midfield and made the third start of her career.
• Four Razorbacks made the SEC Preseason Watch List last week, including Stefani Doyle, Parker Goins, Haley VanFossen, and Taylor Malham.
FAYETTEVILLE — Five teams who reached the postseason, four teams in the top-30 RPI and the NCAA runner-up are just a few of the highlights of the 2019 Southeastern Conference home schedule for coach Mike Neighbors and Arkansas.
The league office released the composite schedule Wednesday with the Razorbacks hosting national runner-up Mississippi State in the conference opener on Jan. 3. Arkansas’ other home SEC games include Vanderbilt on Jan. 13, Alabama on Jan. 24, Georgia on Jan. 31, South Carolina on Feb. 3, Auburn on Feb. 10, Ole Miss on Feb. 24 and Missouri on Feb. 28.
The 16-game schedule also features a Big Monday road contest at Tennessee on Jan. 21, as part of the SEC’s We Back Pat initiative.
The Razorbacks have home-and-away series with Ole Miss, Missouri and Georgia this season. Times for all of Arkansas’ games will be released when they are available.
From Mike Neighbors:
“The start of the football season is coming fast and the release of the SEC women’s basketball schedule means that we are getting closer to tipping off as well. We are all excited about this team and about getting started. It is always fun to get out the calendars and update them with our great league opponents.
“Our fans will have a chance to see many of the SEC’s perennial powerhouses in Bud Walton Arena this season. When you combine our SEC schedule with our non-conference opponents, it’s easy to see that we have a great challenge in front of us but one we will embrace and start working toward today to be ready when November rolls around.”
In his first season with the Razorbacks, Neighbors guided the team to 13 wins, improved their SEC record and won the first game in the SEC Tournament.
The Razorbacks graduated the services of its second-leading scorer in Devin Cosper but return four of the top 5 point-getters from a year ago.
Senior Malica Monk leads a 16-player roster that is both deep and full of talent. She is joined by fellow seniors Raven Northcross-Baker, Keiryn Swenson and Bailey Zimmerman.
The team got a jump-start on the 2018-19 season with a 10-day exhibition trip to Italy taking on three international teams.
Junior college transfer Alexis Tolefree paced the team on the foreign tour averaging 15.0 points per game.
Chelsea Dungee, who redshirted last season, added 9.3 ppg followed by junior Kiara Williams and Monk who both contributed 8.7 ppg.
Arkansas is scheduled to host an exhibition contest Nov. 1 followed by the season opener on Nov. 9 against Northeastern State.
Notes
• This is just the second time in five seasons that Arkansas has opened SEC play at home.
• Arkansas plays Ole Miss, Missouri and Georgia in a home-and-away series.
• The Razorbacks play at Tennessee as part of the SEC’s Big Monday coverage on Jan. 21. It is also part of the league’s We Back Pat initiative.
• Seven SEC teams reached the NCAA Tournament with an eighth team taking part in the WNIT.
FAYETTEVILLE — After three weeks of preseason practices, scrimmages and an exhibition, Arkansas hits the floor Friday evening for its season opener against Kansas.
First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Barnhill Arena. The match is the first of two against Kansas this weekend coupled with Sunday’s road contest in Lawrence.
Individual match tickets are $5 while UA students—with valid ID—and fans 17 years and younger receive free admission at home matches.
Prior to the match, fans are invited to the Back to School Bash located between the Bev Lewis Center and the south entrance at Barnhill Arena.
Taking on the Jayhawks
The Razorbacks have played Kansas 11 times prior to this weekend’s matches. The teams split the first eight matches in the series but KU has won the last three.
There has only been one sweep in the all-time series with three of the last five meetings extending to five sets. Kansas is one of six opponents that appear in the AVCA preseason national poll; the Jayhawks are receiving votes to begin the year.
Season Openers
Arkansas has won 16 of 24 season openers in its program history including six of the last eight. The Razorbacks have also won their last four season openers played at Barnhill Arena with a 13-3 mark in those contests overall.
Oh Captain, My Captain
By way of a team vote, junior Rachel Rippee and sophomore Elizabeth Pamphile will serve as the Razorbacks’ captains. Rippee finished second in the SEC last season with 11.23 assists per set while Pamphile averaged 2.02 kills per set.
Silver Anniversary
The 2018 seasons marks the 25th anniversary of Arkansas Volleyball which first took the floor in 1994. As a program, the Razorbacks enter the year with 466 wins and 11 NCAA Tournament appearances.
Fresh(man) Faces
Arkansas welcomes six newcomers-five freshmen and one junior-to this year’s roster. The team’s incoming class was named a Highest Honorable Mention group, just outside the top 30 by PrepVolleyball.com.
Sideline Additions
Justin Martin joined the program as volunteer assistant in July after six seasons at Ashland University that featured three Division II NCAA Tournament appearances. During the spring, Whitney Roth was named director of operations.
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