Box Score FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.—McNeese volleyball held its own early in the match but in the end Arkansas proved to be too much in its season opening straight set loss (25-20, 25-11, 25-21) on the first day of the Arkansas Invitational. McNeese (0-1) will face Kansas at 1 p.m. and Army at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
 
"I thought there were a lot of positives tonight," said head coach Ashleigh Fitzgerald. "We battled a well-rounded Razorback team that kept the pressure on us all night. We were a little hesitant for stretches, we don't get exhibition games in volleyball," Fitzgerald said.
 
The first set was tight at the beginning before McNeese took a 16-15 lead. Arkansas rallied to win six of the next seven points to take a 21-16 lead. Trailing 23-16, McNeese reeled off four straight points to cut the Arkansas lead to 23-20, forcing Arkansas into a timeout. Following the timeout, a service error by the Cowgirls and a kill by Arkansas' Monica Bollinger sealed the first set win for the Razorbacks.
 
Arkansas came out strong in the second set, jumping out to a 5-0 lead aided by two Cowgirl errors. A kill by Rae Myers put the Cowgirls on the board then Hailee Showers responded with a kill, her fourth of the match. Arkansas continued to build on its momentum and extend its lead to a 16-6. The Razorbacks went on to outscore the Cowgirls 9-5 to take the second set 25-11 and a 2-0 overall match lead.
 
"I was really happy how the first set went," said head coach Ashleigh Fitzgerald. "We had a great mind set coming into the match then we lost focus in the second set. 
 
McNeese jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third set but Arkansas scored the next two points to tie the set at two apiece. The Cowgirls went on a run of their own to lead 7-4 lead. McNeese continued to apply pressure to the Razorbacks and extended its lead to 15-10.
 
Arkansas' offense then kicked into gear and scored five straight points to cut the Cowgirl lead to 15-13 and eventually took a 17-16 lead. The Razorbacks extended its lead to 21-18 and eventually won the match with a third set 21-15 score.
 
McNeese started the match by ending with a .242 hitting percent but struggled in the next two sets. The Cowgirls ended the match with a .038 attack percent and 20 errors while Arkansas ended the match with a .284 hitting percent, 15 errors and 9.0 blocks.
 
Sophomore Rae Myers led McNeese with seven kills while junior Hailee Showers collecting six. Senior Malina Sanchez led the team with nine digs while senior setter Kelly Graham dished out 16 assists. Freshman Ebony Lewis was credited with three blocks to lead the Cowgirls.
 
"We hope to play better for longer stretches tomorrow against even tougher competition."