Hogs Finish Weekend with 3-1 Victory Over Bison

Arkansas volleyball had its first-ever meeting with the Howard Bison on Saturday and came away with a 3-1 victory (25-19, 25-11, 22-25, 25-17) for an unbeaten 3-0 record at the Towson Invitational.

Senior outside hitter Lakin Laurendine had a fantastic showing with a team high 21 kills, also the most for any Razorback so far this season. She had just three attack errors on the day on 50 swings for a .360 hitting percentage and added four blocks.

Freshman middle blocker Elsie Law had a breakout performance on both sides of the game with 10 kills, a .421 hitting clip, and seven blocks. Fellow rookie Madi Benne had her best day as Arkansas’ primary libero so far with a career high 20 digs and six assists.

The Hogs put together a nice day at the service line with eight aces and Gaby Cornier, Lily Dudley and Romani Thurman each posted two apiece.

The Razorbacks are now 7-2 on the season with just two more matches remaining in the non-conference slate.

Set 1

While Howard jumped out to an early lead, the Hogs locked in for a 6-0 run that featured three kills from Laurendine and a Thurman ace, which made it 7-3 Arkansas. The Bison kept it close after that and trimmed the deficit to as little as one point, but the Hogs kept them at bay just enough. An ace from Thurman made it 17-13 Razorbacks, and Howard huddled. The Bison put up a good fight and limited Arkansas to a point or two at a time, but the Hogs crossed the first set finish line with a win, 25-19.

Set 2

Arkansas slowly pushed itself to a decent lead in the second set, capitalizing off Howard errors and maintaining a strong offensive presence. Five unanswered points from the Hogs made it 12-5 Arkansas in a hurry. A short run by Howard brought the Bison within striking distance, but the Hogs answered with a blistering 10-1 run to close the end, shuttering any chance of a Howard comeback. The Razorbacks hit .316 to the Bison’s -.238 in the second and had just two attack errors.

Set 3

The third set was a little closer than others had been with Howard right behind Arkansas at 9-7, but four straight points for the Hogs gave them a solid 13-7 lead. Arkansas maintained its six-point edge with a Laurendine kill at the technical timeout, but after that, the Bison found another gear. Howard went on a huge 10-2 run that gave them a lead at 19-17, and the Hogs called time. Arkansas kept chasing but the Bison had fully shifted the momentum and came away with a 25-22 third set victory.

Set 4

The Razorbacks began the fourth with an ace from Gaby Cornier and went up 3-0 quickly. From there, the Hogs didn’t let Howard put up more than one point at a time, while they began to string together some small runs. A 3-0 streak capped off by another ace from Cornier made it 13-6 Arkansas, and Howard called time. The Razorbacks continued to dictate the pace and went up by 10 at 18-8 off an ace from Lily Dudley. The Bison trimmed the lead to seven for the Hogs, but Arkansas got the next three to take it to set and match point. Howard spoiled it three times, but one more kill from Laurendine made it 25-17 for Arkansas.

Up Next

The Razorbacks travel to Jonesboro, Ark. for a pair of matches next week. They’ll take on in-state rival Arkansas State on Friday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. and will finish the weekend with a contest against Illinois at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

More Information

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