Arkansas Gets Back on Track with Quick Sweep of Stephen F. Austin on Friday

The No. 22 Razorback volleyball team bounced back in a big way on Friday afternoon as the Hogs took down the Stephen F. Austin Lady Jacks in a 74-minute sweep just a day after suffering their first loss of the season.

The Razorbacks hit a blistering .431 on the match, the ninth-highest single match hitting percentage in program history and the best all season. Arkansas’ underclassmen played a huge role, with Romani Thurman and Olivia Ruy tallying 14 kills apiece and Aniya Madkin tallied 13. The trio all also hit above .300 in the match, with Ruy and Madkin sitting at .417 and .538, respectively.

Seniors Hannah Hogue and Courtney Jackson both provided their trademark consistency and each had their second double-doubles in as many matches. Hogue contributed 38 assists and 15 digs, whle Jackson had 10 assists and 13 digs.

Set 1

The opening set was tight until a 5-2 run by Arkansas that featured two kills by Aniya Madkin and one by Sania Petties pushed it to 9-6 in favor of the Razorbacks. The Lady Jacks stayed close and narrowed the deficit to two, but Arkansas strung together a nine-point streak highlighted with two kills each from Thurman and Ruy for a 19-10 advantage. SFA called time and added two points back, but three straight from the Hogs including a kill from Petties and block from Petties and Hogue took it to set point. A kill from Ruy concluded the first 25-13 for the Razorbacks.

Set 2

The two teams traded points to start in the middle frame, with the Lady Jacks tying it up at 11-all. It didn’t last long, though, as the Razorbacks rattled off a whopping 11 straight points, eight of them kills, for a commanding 22-11 set lead. SFA got one back, but the Hogs added two with back-to-back kills from Ruy, which took it to set point at 24-12. Just as the first set ended, Ruy closed it with a kill for the 25-13 victory.

Set 3

The Hogs opened the third set on a 5-0 run and held the Lady Jacks to just two points. Arkansas extended the edge to 9-2 with a trio of points, and Stephen F. Austin huddled. The Lady Jacks chipped away a bit, but the Hogs used a 4-0 run and pushed the lead to 16-7 with two kills from Madkin and one from Evans. Arkansas limited SFA to one point at a time, while two kills crossed the 20-point threshold for the Hogs. SFA got three back, but a Lady Jack service error and kill from Madkin shut the door on the 25-13 once again and the match 3-0. Arkansas hit an astounding .739 as a team in the final frame with 17 kills and zero attack errors on 23 attempts.

Up Next

Arkansas closes its non-conference slate at the Canes Classic Sept. 19-21 in Miami, Fla. The Hogs take on No. 20 Miami, Florida International and Texas Tech. The Razorbacks have the host Hurricanes on Thursday at 5 p.m., the Panthers on Friday at 4 p.m. and the Red Raiders on Saturday at 11 a.m.

More Information

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