Hogs Fall to Scarlet Knights in Big Ten/SEC Challenge Opener

Arkansas volleyball suffered its first loss of the season on Tuesday as the Hogs fell in straight sets to Rutgers (19-25, 20-25, 16-25) in the opening match of the Big Ten/SEC Volleyball Challenge in Nashville.

The Razorbacks were outhit by the Scarlet Knights .344-.152 on the night, and Rutgers had a significant advantage at the service line, with nine aces to Arkansas’ five.

Senior Romani Thurman had a team high six kills and hit .357, while freshman outside hitter Paisley Pavliska was just behind with five kills in her collegiate debut.

Freshman libero Madi Benne registered a new career high in digs with 11, keeping Arkansas afloat defensively in the match. Offensively, Kiki Remensperger had 24 assists and a team high three aces.

The Hogs are now 3-1 on the season, with another match coming up on Wednesday against the Maryland Terrapins in Nashville.

Set 1

The opening set was all Rutgers to start, with the Scarlet Knights going up 9-2 quickly. Arkansas found a groove eventually and used a huge service run from Remensperger with three aces to take the lead at 12-11. From there, the teams traded blows and there were five ties until a 4-0 run from Rutgers flipped the lead to the Knights’ side, 21-18. Arkansas notched just one more kill after that, and Rutgers closed it out with a 4-0 run at 25-19.

Set 2

The Scarlet Knights had the lead early in the second set, but it wasn’t a comfortable one as the Hogs tied it at 7-7 off a block from Thurman and Remensperger. Any time Arkansas started to string together some momentum, though, Rutgers quickly got the ball back and held off the Razorbacks by at least two through the midway point. A 3-0 run with an ace from Gaby Cornier made it 18-16, at which point the Scarlet Knights huddled. They maintained their lead easily, and while Arkansas did hit the 20 point mark, Rutgers pulled out a 25-20 set win and went up 2-0.

Set 3

The third set was never really in reach for Arkansas, as the Scarlet Knights limited the Hogs to no more than two points at a time. Rutgers quickly surpassed 20 points, and it was then that Arkansas began to put any pressure on in the set. A 3-0 run with a solo block and kill from Layla Smith and a kill from Thurman made it 20-14, and Rutgers called time. The break only energized the Knights more, and Rutgers quickly got five of the next seven for a 25-16 set three victory to secure the sweep.

Up Next

Arkansas is right back at it for the Razorbacks’ second match of the Big Ten/SEC Volleyball Challenge on Wednesday, Sept. 2 against Maryland. First serve is set for 4 p.m. in Nashville, and the match will again be streamed live on SEC Network+.

More Information

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