Arkansas Falls in Three At A&M Sunday
Arkansas volleyball’s SEC struggles continued Sunday as the Hogs were swept by the Texas A&M Aggies in College Station (20-25, 20-25, 19-25).
No. 10 Texas A&M is now 7-1 in SEC play, while Arkansas falls to 1-7. The Hogs have not won a conference match since its SEC opener against Ole Miss on Sept. 26, with seven matches remaining on the season.
Arkansas’ offense on the day was led by Lakin Laurendine with 10 kills. Romani Thurman pitched in with seven and was very accurate with zero attack errors on 18 swings forf a .389 hitting percentage.
Sophomore setter Kiki Remensperger had 17 assists and added seven digs, which brings her to 504 in her career. She split setting duties with fellow sophomore Livia Niu in a 6-2 offense, and Niu had 13 assists in the match.
Freshman Journey Peppers had another nice outing with four kills and two blocks, hitting .333.
Set 1
The first set started tight, with five ties early on. A&M then used a 5-1 run and began to pull away at 11-7, a lead the Aggies held only briefly. Arkansas tied it at 14-all with a kill from freshman Sydney Maue, but A&M went ahead at the media break the next point. The Aggies had no trouble keeping the advantage from there and grew their lead to a many as six. Arkansas kept chasing and pushed to 20 points, but the Hogs ran out of time as a final kill handed the Aggies a 25-20 first set victory.
Set 2
The home team carried its momentum into the middle frame and quickly jumped out to a 4-1 lead. Arkansas wasn’t far behind though, and a three-point streak capped by an ace from Laurendine flipped the advantage to 9-8 Razorbacks. There were three lead changes after that, but a solid 4-0 run from the Aggies gave them a comfortable 19-15 cushion. The Hogs continued to apply pressure, but the Aggies outlasted them and again won 25-20 and went up 2-0 in the match.
Set 3
The Razorbacks began to find their rhythm in the third set and maintained the tempo through the midway point. A kill by Thurman and ace by Parker Duncan put Arkansas up 11-8, and the Hogs staved off any big runs by the Aggies to keep control. A&M began to fight back with a kill, and an Arkansas attack error that gave the Aggies the lead at 17-15. The Razorbacks came within one again at 20-19 with a kill from Laurendine, but A&M locked in from there and closed out the third set with a 5-0 run for the 25-19 set victory and match sweep.
Up Next
The Hogs have a quick turnaround as they travel to Auburn to take on the Tigers on Wednesday, Oct. 22 at 6 p.m. It’ll be Arkansas’ first nationally-televised match of the season, shown on SEC Network.
More Information
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