Hogs Sweep Cougars in Season Opener
Arkansas volleyball opened the 2026 slate on Friday night at Barnhill Arena and came away with a clean sweep of the SIUE Cougars (25-14, 25-16, 25-17), never trailing at any point during the match.
The Hogs had three players register double-digit kills on the night, led by senior Lakin Laurendine with 13. Senior Romani Thurman was next in line with 11, and sophomore Parker Duncan had 10. All three also hit above .300 on the night, with .556 for Thurman and .550 for Laurendine establishing new career highs. Duncan had a double-double with 10 digs to match her kills and had a team high three aces.
It was a special night at Barnhill as sophomore Aleki Alexander made her long-awaited Razorback debut after being held out since 2024 due to injury. She put up four kills and hit .667 on the match, and had a team high three blocks, one solo and two assists.
Arkansas was absolutely dominant offensively all night. The Hogs had just eight hitting errors at a team and hit .481, the third highest single match hitting percentage in program history and the highest since 2022.
Set 1
The Razorbacks hit the gas early in the opening set and quickly went up 8-1 off back-to-back kills from Laurendine. The Cougars didn’t really have an answer and Arkansas capitalized off SIUE attack errors for a 15-6 advantage at the media break. The Hogs didn’t let up and kept the kills coming. Two in a row from Duncan made it 21-11 Arkansas, and while the Cougars did manage to put three more points up, the Razorbacks finished it off with a 25-14 opening set victory.
Set 2
There was no slowing down for the Hogs in the second set, and a 6-0 run to start was capped off by a Duncan ace. Any time SIUE got the ball back, Arkansas showed no mercy and it was 15-7 for the home team in a hurry. Following the media timeout, the Cougars showed a little bit of fight and cut the lead slightly, but an SIUE error gave Arkansas its 20th point of the set and the Cougars huddled. Alexander continued her hot start and added to her stat column with an ace, which pushed it to set point for the Hogs. SIUE strung together a 3-0 run, but Arkansas shut things down with a kill from Duncan to go up 2-0 in the match.
Set 3
The third set started just as the others had, all Arkansas. A block from Kiki Remensperger and Alexander made it 7-2, and then SIUE started to settle in and trimmed the deficit to three shortly after. While the Cougars kept it closer, an attack error and a kill from Journey Peppers pushed the lead to 19-13 Arkansas, at which point SIUE called time. The Hogs answered with a 4-0 run, bookended by two more Duncan aces, and it was 23-13. The Cougars punched back, but a final kill from Thurman sealed the 25-17 set victory and match sweep.
Up Next
Arkansas continues the Razorback Invitational on Saturday, Aug. 29 with a match against UT Arlington at 7 p.m. at Barnhill Arena. The match will be streamed live on SEC Network+, and tickets are available online or in person via Razorback Ticket Center.
More Information
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