Hogs Blanked by Illini in Non-Con Finale
Arkansas volleyball finished out its non-conference slate on Saturday afternoon with a loss to the Illinois Fighting Illini, 3-0 (16-25, 21-25, 17-25).
Outside hitter Parker Duncan led the team in kills on the day with six, and Lakin Laurendine had five. Middle blocker Layla Smith notched four kills and registered a team high five blocks on the day.
Arkansas hit just .063 in the match to Illinois’ .262, the lowest hitting percentage for the Hogs so far this season. The Illini also had five aces to Arkansas’ one, and 49 kills to the Razorbacks’ 21.
The Hogs did have the blocking advantage on the day, with 10 to the Illini’s eight, Arkansas’ fifth match with double digit blocks in 2026. Behind Smith, both Aleki Alexander and Elsie Law had three stuffs apiece, and setter Kiki Remensperger tallied two solo blocks.
The loss is the third on the season for the Razorbacks at 8-3, and all three came at the hands of Big Ten teams.
Set 1
The opening set went back-and-forth to start, but Illinois was able to find lengthier runs than the Hogs and went up 8-5 early. Arkansas was stifled by a strong Illinois attack and some errors that extended the lead to 15-10 for the Illini at the technical timeout. Illinois continued to dictate the pace, but a 3-0 run by the Razorbacks with a kill and an ace from Duncan made it 18-15 and sent the Illini to a timeout. Illinois wasted no time from there as the Illini closed the set on a 7-1 run for a 25-16 victory.
Set 2
Illinois carried its momentum over into the second set and quickly doubled its lead to 8-4 with a kill. Arkansas was able to get it going after that and capitalized off a Smith kill and four Illinois errors for an 11-9 lead, at which point the Illini huddled. It worked, as Illinois got six of the next seven and regained the 15-12 advantage. After the technical timeout, the Hogs continued to battle and came within one a couple of times, but a 4-2 Illini run made it 21-17. Arkansas did eclipse the 20 point mark but ultimately ran out of time as the Illini won set two 25-21 and went up 2-0.
Set 3
The two teams continued to trade blows in the early parts of the third set, but Illinois began to pull away with a 3-0 run that made it 11-8 in its favor. From there, the Illini limited the Hogs to just one point at a time until Arkansas called time down 19-11. A 4-1 run for the Razorbacks put them in striking distance at 20-15, but Illinois locked in and got the next two points to put itself three away. The Hogs tallied two more, but a 3-0 Illini run sealed the set 25-17 and the match sweep.
Up Next
Arkansas begins SEC play at home next week against Auburn on Friday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. The match will be Dolly Parton Night at Barnhill Arena, and the first 500 fans will receive commemorative posters and stickers. Tickets are available online, in person, or by phone via Razorback Ticket Center. The match will be streamed live on SEC Network+.
More Information
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