Arkansas Loses Five-Setter to Denver Saturday

The Hogs were able to force a fifth set against the Denver Pioneers on Saturday, but they couldn’t gain enough momentum in the end and fell in their second match of the Buffs Invitational, 3-2 (25-21, 17-25, 23-25, 25-20).

Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Lakin Laurendine led the offense with a team-high 25 kills, the second time in as many matches that she set a new personal high in kills. She also added 13 digs on the day for a double-double, her first at Arkansas. She had two service aces as well in the effort.

Freshman outside Parker Duncan was next in kills with 22, another Arkansas career best. Junior opposite Romani Thurman rounded out the Hog trio with double-digit kills on the day and tallied a dozen.

Sophomore setter Kiki Remensperger recorded her second consecutive double-double with a career-high 57 assists and 10 digs. Arkansas’ libero/defensive specialist pair of Kylie Weeks and Gaby Cornier contributed 12 digs apiece.

The Hogs recorded 12 team blocks in the match, tied for their most this season. Middles Zoi Evans and Journey Peppers each had six, and Laurendine added four.

Set 1

Neither team allowed the other to score more than two points at a time through the media timeout of the first set, and Denver held a slight 15-14 lead at that point. The Hogs locked in from there, though, and got five of the next six points including back-to-back blocks, pushing the score to 19-16 and forcing a DU timeout. Arkansas limited the Pios’ chances and while they came within two eventually, the Razorbacks finished out the set on a 3-1 run and a pair of kills from Duncan secured the 25-21 victory.

Set 2

Denver answered back big in the second set and cruised to a quick 10-2 lead. Arkansas called time and was able to interrupt the Pioneers’ rhythm slightly, but another 5-0 run followed not long after and Denver went up 20-8. The Hogs did find a way to add seven more points but ran out of time as the Pios took set two 25-17 and knotted the match at 1-1.

Set 3

The third set was much closer than the second with the teams exchanging blows through the midway point, tied at 13-all. Denver began to pull away with a three-point run and jumped ahead 19-16, prompting a Hog huddle. The Razorbacks continued to chase and responded with a 4-1 streak that tied the score at 20-20 and 21-21, but Denver pushed it to 23-21 with a pair of points. Two Denver attack errors put an Arkansas comeback within reach, but a final Pioneer kill was just enough for them to take the set 25-23 and put the Hogs down in the match.

Set 4

The Razorbacks trailed the Pios for much of the fourth set with Denver shutting down any lengthy runs by Arkansas and keeping the Hogs back by at least one point. But a great service run featuring two aces from Avery Calame quickly shifted the lead over to the Razorbacks’ side at 14-12. Denver managed to tie it at 15-all, but Arkansas pieced together three straight points, including an ace from Laurendine, and made the advantage 18-15. The Hogs maintained control from there and were two points away at 23-18 with back-to-back kills from Thurman and Evans. Thurman then added two more to give Arkansas the 25-20 victory, forcing a fifth set.

Set 5

Denver had the upper hand early in the deciding fifth, but Arkansas used back-to-back points to gain a narrow 5-4 lead. The Pioneers answered right back, though, and rattled off a 4-1 run, giving them an 8-6 edge. From there, Arkansas couldn’t break through for long enough and the Pios quickly made it 13-8. Kills from Duncan and Laurendine got the Hogs over 10, but Denver locked in for two more points and won the fifth set 15-10 and the match 3-2.

Up Next

Arkansas has its final match of the Buffs Invitational on Sunday in Boulder against Toledo. First serve is set for 12 p.m. and the action will be streamed live on ESPN+.

More Information

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