Hogs Battle Back, But Fall in Five to Wildcats
Down 2-1 in the match, the Razorbacks answered the call and evened Saturday’s series finale against the No. 19 Wildcats at two sets apiece, but the visiting team prevailed and took the deciding set 15-12 for a 3-2 victory.
The Hogs move to 11-5 overall and 2-4 in conference, while the Cats are 10-5 and 5-1.Arkansas is now 11-4 on the season and 2-3 in SEC play. Kentucky moves to 8-5 and is 4-1 in the league. Arkansas and Kentucky have now gone to five sets in three of the last four outings between the two, and the last two were decided by no more than three points.
Junior Taylor Head led the offensive effort for the Razorbacks with a career-high 23 kills and a team-high 12 digs for a double-double, and hit .395. She also had two service aces in the match, which included the clinching set point in the opening frame.
For the third consecutive match, the Hogs posted double-digit blocks with 11, which is their ninth double-digit blocking performance on the season. Graduate middle Tatum Shipes had five total with a solo block and four block assists, and also contributed a season-high nine kills to boost Arkansas’ offense. Seniors Jill Gillen and Maggie Cartwright also joined Shipes with solo blocks on the night.
Set 1
Kentucky quickly took control in the first set and held a lead nearly to the midway point. A pair of kills from Shipes put the Hogs out front 13-11, and two from Hailey Dirrigl made it 15-13 Arkansas at the media break. The Cats were never far behind, though, and the score was tied five more times after that through the 20th point. Two kills from Head gave the lead back to Arkansas, and Kentucky called time. The Wildcats answered with a pair of points of their own to push it to set point, and the Razorbacks regrouped with a timeout. It was a back-and-forth battle from there, and the score was tied at 25-, 26-, 27-, 28-, and 29-all before the Hogs were able to string together back-to-back points from Head in the form of a kill and an ace for the 31-29 set victory.
Set 2
The Cats grabbed the first point of the second set and didn’t surrender the lead for the remainder of the frame. The Hogs were closed the gap to one at some point, but didn’t generate a run long enough to pull away from Kentucky. The team attempted to regroup with two timeouts, the last down 23-17. The Razorbacks tacked on four points from there and another out of the Kentucky timeout, but a kill for the Cats ended the second 25-22 and evened the match at one apiece.
Set 3
The Hogs used a three-point run in the third and went ahead 6-4, but it was short-lived as the Wildcats fired back with a 6-1 streak and reached 10 points first. The Razorbacks then played from behind, and Kentucky extended its lead to 18-14. Arkansas took a timeout, but didn’t move the deficit to less than two. A kill and an attack error closed the set 25-21 in favor of the Wildcats for a 2-1 Kentucky lead.
Set 4
Some early Wildcat errors helped the Hogs get an advantage to start, and while the away team tied it five times, a three-point Razorback run with a kill from Head and two attack errors made it 12-9 in favor of the Hogs. Kentucky took a timeout and while the Wildcats stifled Arkansas runs, they didn’t get any of their own and the Hogs continued to hold the lead. Back-to-back kills from Dirrigl and Head extended the edge to four at 21-17, and the Wildcats huddled again. An attack error sent Arkansas to set point, which Kentucky spoiled four times. Following a timeout, the Cats added one more point, but Cartwright shut the door with a kill at 25-21 and forced a fifth set.
Set 5
The deciding set was tight, and the Hogs tied the score three times, but never led through the first eight points. Upon switching sides, Arkansas gained some momentum and took an 11-10 lead off a kill from Dirrigl, and again at 12-11 with one from Cartwright. The Wildcats then settled in and took a 13-12 lead, which prompted an Arkansas timeout. The Hogs didn’t score out of the break, though, and one final Kentucky kill made it 15-12 Wildcats for the 3-2 match victory.
Up Next
Arkansas continues a five-match homestand next weekend as the Hogs host the Tennessee Vols on Friday, Oct. 14 and Saturday, Oct. 15. First serve of the opening match is set for 7 p.m. and the finale is at 5 p.m. Both matches will be streamed live on SEC Network Plus.
More Information
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