Arkansas Defeats Troy, Takes Home Three Wins from Bowling Green

The Hogs closed out their first road trip with another win and went a perfect 3-0 on the weekend as No. 17 Arkansas took down Troy 3-1 on Saturday morning.

Graduate outside hitter Jill Gillen led the Razorbacks with 19 kills on 40 swings for a .400 hitting percentage. She also finished the day with 10 digs for a double-double and had two service aces.

Junior middle blocker Sania Petties had an excellent match on both sides of the ball with a career-high 15 kills and a .545 hitting percentage, and she put up seven blocks. This comes the day after Petties notched a new career high in blocks with eight in the team’s five-set victory over Western Kentucky.

Arkansas finished the match with 13 total blocks, the second double-digit blocking performance for the Hogs in as many contests. The Razorbacks also had 15 service aces, which ties the program record for second-highest in a match, last recorded in 2003. Junior setter Hannah Hogue had one-third of those, and five is a new career high for her.

Set 1

Arkansas opened the set with a 6-2 run that was highlighted by service aces from Courtney Jackson and Maggie Cartwright. Troy found some momentum and stayed close, but Arkansas widened the gap with a trio of kills from Gillen and Zoi Evans that made it 12-6 Hogs. The Trojans added two, but the Razorbacks pushed it to 15-8 and prompted another Troy timeout. Jackson answered with her second ace, and Arkansas kept firing. The Hogs led by as many as 11 and closed the set with a kill from Head for the 25-14 victory.

Set 2

Troy jumped out to an early lead in the second set, but Arkansas righted the ship with a kill from Gillen and ace by Hogue for a 10-9 edge. The Trojans quickly responded though and the Hogs found themselves down by three, which brought them to a huddle. Troy kept the pressure on and despite the Hogs’ pushes, they couldn’t catch up and the Trojans took the second set 25-22 and evened the match.

Set 3

Arkansas claimed a narrow 6-3 lead early and didn’t surrender it from there. A three-point run capped by an ace from Hogue pushed it to 15-7, the Hogs’ biggest lead of the set to that point. Troy used two timeouts shortly after and strung together a couple of solid runs, which kept it close. After three straight points from the Trojans, the deficit for Troy was cut to just two at 23-21, and Arkansas called time. The Trojans came within one, but the Hogs finished it with a kill from Head and a block for the 25-22 victory and match lead.

Set 4

The fourth set was mostly back-and-forth until Arkansas began to pull away with a five-point run featuring two Hogue aces, which made it 11-6 in favor of the Razorbacks. The Trojans kept chipping and came within two, but the Hogs got back into rhythm and hit 15 points first off a kill from Petties. The Razorbacks continued to roll and made it a 10-point lead with a block from Petties and Hogue. Gillen kept that advantage with her 18th kill of the day and pushed it to match point. Two Troy points spoiled it, but Gillen finished with another kill for the 25-16 set victory and 3-1 match win.

Up Next

Arkansas continues its road swing with a three-match tournament Sept. 15-16 in Queens, NY. The Hogs will play Buffalo and host St. Johns on Friday and Bryant on Saturday.

More Information

Visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com for the latest information on all things Arkansas Volleyball. You can also find the Razorbacks on social media by liking us on Facebook (Arkansas Razorback Volleyball) and following us on Twitter and Instagram (@RazorbackVB).