Arkansas Secures Two Sweeps on Friday

The Razorback volleyball team continued a road trip out east with two matches on Friday and made quick work of both Robert Morris and host Towson, taking both down in straight sets.

Arkansas’ first contest of the day was an early one, but the Hogs brought plenty of energy against the Colonials and won 25-13, 25-18 and 25-23. The evening match against Towson was a bit more of a test, but ultimately the Hogs were able to shut down the Tigers 26-24, 26-16 and 25-15. Arkansas improves to 6-2 on the season with the wins.

A total of 14 players saw action for the Hogs between the two matches. Freshman Madi Benne was a mainstay in both lineups at libero and tallied 20 total digs and nine assists. Sophomore Journey Peppers started in each match and combined for a team high 11 blocks, which also put her over the triple digit threshold in her career at 101.

Fifth year outside hitter Laci Bohannan led the way in kills in the opening match with 13, while Parker Duncan had a team high 15 against Towson. Bohannan had just one error on 30 swings for a .400 hitting percentage, and Duncan hit .357.

Both junior setters played for the Razorbacks on Friday and notched double-doubles. In the match against RMU, Livia Niu tallied a career high 30 assists and 13 digs, along with three blocks. Versus Towson, Kiki Remensperger added 37 assists and 10 digs, her third double-double of the season, and had two blocks.

Match 1: RMU

The Razorbacks got out to a hot start in the opening set with a dominant 6-0 run that put them up 8-2. Robert Morris found their rhythm a bit after that and limited Arkansas to a couple of points at a time, putting together its own small strings of points. Arkansas continued to dictate the pace, though, and the Hogs used a 4-0 run capped off by a Bohannan kill for an 18-10 lead. Robert Morris called time shortly after down 21-12, but it didn’t do anything to slow Arkansas down. The Hogs closed it out on a 4-1 run for a 25-13 first set victory.

The second set was more competitive to start; with Robert Morris leading util Arkansas broke through with a 4-0 run to make it 11-8 Razorbacks. The Colonials had trouble catching up from there, as the Hogs kept pouring it on and quickly reached 20 points off an ace from Niu. Robert Morris called a timeout and managed to keep pushing, but Arkansas got to set point off a kill from Peppers. The Colonials got one more, but Peppers again finished the set 25-18 for the Hogs.

The Colonials weren’t going down without a fight and used four early unanswered points to take an 8-4 lead in the third. Arkansas answered back and tied it at 10-10 and then took the lead at 13-12, but RMU got it back at 15-14 off a Razorback service error. The Hogs took back control with a 4-1 run capped by a Pavliska kill, which made it 18-16 Arkansas and prompted a Colonials timeout. RMU kept the pressure on and not only got over 20 points for the first time all morning, but tied it at 23-23, which sent the Hogs to a huddle. The break worked, as a kill from Bohannan and a block from Lily Dudley and Elsie Law secured the 25-23 set win and match sweep for the Hogs.

Match 2: Towson

The first set of the day’s second match was back-and-forth to start, but Arkansas began to pull away with a 4-0 run that was punctuated by a block from Peppers and Duncan that made it 8-6 Razorbacks. Towson answered back and stayed close after, tying the score at 17-all. The Hogs then went up by three with a block from Peppers and Thurman at 21-18, but the Tigers weren’t done pushing. They tied it at 23-23 and then 24-24, forcing extra points for a win. A Towson service error and a kill from Duncan finished it for Arkansas 26-24 and put the Hogs up 1-0 in the match.

The Tigers had all the momentum to start the second set and opened with a 3-0 run. The Razorbacks began to find their footing and tied the score at 6-6 after Duncan ended a long, scrappy rally with a kill. The point was part of a big 7-1 run that gave Arkansas a 9-6 advantage. The Hogs got more comfortable from there and had extended the lead to 15-10 at the technical break. The Tigers couldn’t do anything to stifle the Razorbacks at that point, who cruised to 20 points first off a kill from Aleki Alexander. Arkansas kept its foot on the gas and a kill from Laurendine led to a 25-16 set two victory for the Hogs.

A huge 6-1 run got the Razorbacks off to a blazing start in the third set, one that featured two aces from Laurendine. The visiting team reached 10 points first off a kill from Peppers, and it was all Arkansas from there. The Hogs led by as many as eight down the stretch, and a big 4-0 service run with an ace from Remensperger put the Razorbacks one away at 24-13. Towson added two more points, but one more kill from Duncan secured a 25-15 set win and match sweep.

Up Next

The Hogs close out the Towson Invitational against Howard on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 11 a.m., their first-ever meeting against the Bison. The match will not be streamed but will be accessible via StatBroadcast.

More Information

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