Hogs Right the Ship with Reverse Sweep Over Auburn
Arkansas re-entered the win column on Sunday after five straight losses as the Hogs pulled off a reverse sweep over Auburn at Barnhill Arena.
Redshirt freshman Aniya Madkin had a team-high 25 kills on the night, her third match this season with 20+ kills. Her fellow underclassmen also made a big impact, as redshirt freshman Lily Dudley made her collegiate debut starting in the third set and tallied four kills and four digs on the day. Redshirt sophomore Ava Roth contributed heavily in the back row with a team-high 20 digs, a new personal best.
Senior middle blocker Sania Petties helped on both sides of the ball with 14 kills on 30 swings for a .400 hitting percentage and had five blocks. Sophomore Romani Thurman also had double-digit kills with 11 and had a team-best six blocks.
Senior setter Hannah Hogue delivered her usual excellence with her fifth straight double-double that included a season high 54 assists and 17 digs.
Arkansas had 11 total service aces on the day, which matched the team’s season best. Three Hogs had three apiece: Dudley, Hogue, and Lo Jones, and Ava Roth had two. The marks were career highs for Dudley, Jones, and Roth.
Set 1
The Hogs jumped out to an early lead in the opening set and didn’t let Auburn catch up with more than a couple of points at a time. The Tigers roared back though and strung together a 9-1 run heading into the media timeout, which gave them a 15-12 lead. From there, Arkansas found itself chasing Auburn the rest of the way, and while the Hogs came within one with a block from Petties and Thurman, the Tigers kept on pushing and were handed the set 25-23 off an Arkansas service error.
Set 2
The second set had quite a bit of back-and-forth midway through, but Auburn broke away with a 4-1 run that put the Tigers up 14-11. The Razorbacks then scored three straight to tie it, but Auburn limited Arkansas to one point at a time from there as they got four unanswered for a 21-16 advantage. The Hogs got one back, but ran out of time for a real comeback as a kill from the Tigers sealed the set 25-19 and put Arkansas in an 0-2 hole.
Set 3
In a must-win situation, the Hogs were in deep trouble as they trailed by as much as 10 in the third set. Dudley then entered the match for the first time in her collegiate career and almost singlehandedly shifted the momentum with an excellent 5-0 service run that cut the deficit to 14-10. Auburn continued to keep the pressure on and hit 20 points first, but the Hogs dug deep and came within one off a 3-0 run started by a Dudley kill. Auburn got the next two, which sent Arkansas to a timeout down 23-20, but the break in action paid off as the Hogs closed the set on a stellar 5-0 run that featured two aces from Dudley and gave the Razorbacks life with a 25-23 victory that staved off the Tiger sweep.
Set 4
For the first time all night Arkansas looked steady and started the fourth set with a 9-4 lead. The Hogs limited the Tigers’ chances from there and went up 13-7 with a block from Zoi Evans and Hogue, and Auburn called time. The Tigers put up a good fight, but just couldn’t fully turn the tide as the Hogs extended their lead to 23-15 with a 3-0 run with an ace from Jones. The Tigers got the next four, but Arkansas didn’t give them much more breathing room and the Razorbacks finished it 25-20 with a kill from Madkin to force a fifth set.
Set 5
Auburn got the first point of the deciding set with an ace, but Arkansas scored five straight with three kills from Madkin, one from Thurman, and an ace from Hogue. The Tigers came within one at 5-4, but a service error and a kill from Evans kept Arkansas up by three. The Hogs reached 10 points first with a Dudley kill, and they extended the advantage to 13-8 with three straight points. Auburn got three of the next four, but a final kill from Madkin made it 15-11 Arkansas for the reverse sweep.
Up Next
The Hogs are back at Barnhill on Friday, Nov. 8 against South Carolina for their Hero Appreciation Match. First serve is at 7 p.m. and the action will be streamed live on SEC Network+.
More Information
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