Hogs Topple Tigers in Four Sets

Arkansas volleyball had its third match in six days on Wednesday and showed little road fatigue as the Hogs took down the LSU Tigers 3-1 in Baton Rouge (25-20, 25-17, 21-25, 25-18).

Three Hogs were in double figures on the night: Parker Duncan with 22 kills, Layla Smith with 12 kills, and Lakin Laurendine with 10 kills. Smith and Laurendine had just two hitting errors combined, and Smith hit .579 on the night and Laurendine .409.

The Razorback defense was just as strong as the offense on Wednesday, with four Hogs posting double-digit digs: Kiki Remensperger with 17, Laurendine with 16 – matching her career high, Madi Benne with 15 and Gaby Cornier with 10. It was an impressive showing with 69 digs to the Tigers’ 61, who are averaging the second-most digs per set in the SEC.

Along with Laurendine’s kill/dig effort, setter Kiki Remensperger posted a double-double with 45 assists to go with her digs, her ninth double-double of the season.

Arkansas put up a dozen blocks to LSU’s eight, led by Remensperger and Aleki Alexander with seven apiece.

The Hogs hit .317 on the night, their highest hitting percentage in SEC play to date and their third-best clip all season.

The Razorbacks are now 12-11 overall and 4-8 in conference action with three matches left in the regular season slate.

Set 1

Arkansas began the match on a 4-0 run, highlighted by an ace from Laurendine, which got the Hogs out to a solid lead. The Razorbacks didn’t let the Tigers catch up much, and another ace – this time from Benne – made it 9-5 in favor of Arkansas. The Hogs continued to dictate the pace for a bit, but a big 5-0 streak by the home team cut the lead to 14-12. Duncan answered with a kill that made the lead three again at the media break. LSU was never far behind, but Arkansas found a way to limit the chances to one or two at a time from there. Remensperger won a joust at the net to push the Hogs over 20 points, and the Tigers called time down by three. Arkansas carried the energy through to the end and took the opening set 25-20 off a kill from Romani Thurman.

Set 2

Arkansas quickly began to pull away in the second set and benefited from some early LSU errors that sent the Tigers to a timeout at 9-5 Hogs. Thurman and Alexander put up a block to make it double digits, and while LSU kept chasing, the Hogs held a comfortable 15-10 lead at the technical timeout thanks to Duncan’s 13th kill of the night. LSU added just one point from there while the Hogs got three, and the Tigers huddled. Duncan tacked on an ace after that, which made it a 19-11 lead. Thurman had back-to-back kills to push the advantage to eight, and while the Tigers spoiled set point twice, Arkansas closed it with a kill from Remensperger, 25-17.

Set 3

LSU found its rhythm in the early part of the third set and quickly went up 9-4. Arkansas used a 3-1 run, complete with a block from Laurendine and Alexander, to come within three, but the Tigers maintained the lead and pushed it to 15-11 at the media break. Arkansas continued to battle and won a challenge that put the Razorbacks within two at 16-14, and a kill from Thurman and LSU error shortly after tied it at 17-all. It was tied again at 18-18, and then an ace from Gaby Cornier put Arkansas ahead by one. After a Tigers timeout they regained the lead, 20-19, and the Hogs huddled next. LSU kept the pressure on and did what was needed to take the third, 25-21.

Set 4

Arkansas went up 4-2 off a kill from Laurendine, and while the Tigers came within one, the Hogs got the following three. The run was capped off with a block from Remensperger and Alexander, which made it 7-3, before LSU called time. The Razorbacks reached double figures with another kill from Duncan, her 19th of the night, and extended the lead to five. LSU put up a pair, but three straight from the Razorbacks, including a solo block from Duncan, made it 13-6 for Arkansas. The Tigers then came storming back with a 7-1 run to cut the deficit to only one point, but a kill from Layla Smith gave the Hogs some room to breathe heading into the technical timeout. LSU wouldn’t go quietly and took a 16-15 lead, and Arkansas called time. The two teams traded blows from there, but a string of LSU errors and Duncan’s hot hand made it 22-18 for the Razorbacks. Remensperger and Smith combined for another pair of blocks and Smith put the exclamation point on the set with a kill, 25-18, and secured the match 3-1.

Up Next

The Razorbacks have another road contest to close out the week, at Ole Miss on Sunday, Nov. 8. Action is set for 2 p.m. in Oxford, and the match will be streamed live on SEC Network+.

More Information

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