Hogs Swept by Horns in First-Ever SEC Match-Up
The back-to-back national champion Texas Longhorns looked every bit the part on Friday night as No. 7 Texas swept Arkansas 25-20, 25-17 and 25-22.
The loss was Arkansas’ first in SEC play and the Hogs are now 4-1 in the league, 14-3 overall. The Longhorns are the only undefeated team in the SEC at 6-0 and have dropped just one set in conference play.
Redshirt freshman outside hitter Aniya Madkin had a team-high 13 kills on the night and hit .265. Senior setter Hannah Hogue paced the offense with 22 assists and nine digs, both match bests for Arkansas.
The Hogs managed to match the Longhorns in blocks on the night with six apiece, and three of Arkansas’ came from senior middle blocker Zoi Evans.
Set 1
Texas used a 4-0 early on in the opening set to grab a lead that lasted until kills from Romani Thurman and Evans tied it at 11-all. It was fairly close from there, but Texas began to pull away with an 18-15 lead that sent Arkansas to a timeout. The Hogs couldn’t string together more than two points at a time and huddled again down 23-18. They tacked on two more points, but they came too late as a final Texas kill sealed the set 25-20 for the Longhorns.
Set 2
The Hogs played scrappy early in the first, but the Horns managed to answer every time to stay out in front, and Arkansas called time trailing 12-8. The Longhorns continued to roll from there and limited Arkansas to just one point at a time while they extended their lead. A Texas set point was spoiled with a service error, but the Hogs had one of their own next to hand the set to Texas 25-17.
Set 3
Arkansas swung the momentum a bit in the third and while Texas led early, a three-point run with two Texas attack errors tied it at 13-all in the third set. The Longhorns called time but couldn’t generate any long scoring chances and the Hogs found themselves up 19-16 off a service ace from Lo Jones. Arkansas hit 20 first, but Texas was right behind and tied it, which sent the Razorbacks to a huddle. Arkansas got a point back, but three straight from the Longhorns gave them the lead at 23-21. The Hogs tallied one more after a timeout, but back-to-back Texas kills made the set 25-22 and sealed the sweep.
Up Next
Arkansas heads to College Station for a Sunday afternoon contest with the A&M Aggies. First serve is set for 2 p.m. and the match will be streamed live on SEC Network+.
More Information
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