Razorbacks Down Rebs in Five to Open SEC Play

Arkansas volleyball opened its conference slate on Friday night and gutted out a big five-set win over the Ole Miss Rebels (25-21, 20-25, 26-25, 19-25, 15-8).

Freshman outside hitter Parker Duncan matched her jersey number in kills on the night with 21, a team high. She also led the Hog offense in hitting percentage with .263 and had only six attack errors.

Romani Thurman also had double-digit kills with 15, and Lakin Laurendine chipped in a double-double with 14 kills and 12 digs. Sophomore setter Kiki Remensperger paced the offense well with 49 assists and added 11 digs for a double-double.

Graduate middle blocker Zoi Evans had a strong night with five kills, two blocks, and an ace, her fourth ace in three matches.

The Hogs are 5-7 on the season and start out the SEC portion of the schedule at 1-0.

Set 1

Arkansas had a narrow advantage to start the opening set, but a 5-3 run by the Rebs quickly swung the momentum to their side at 10-9. The two teams battled closely after that, but Ole Miss managed to hold the lead at 15-12. The Razorbacks locked in from there and used a 3-0 run highlighted with an ace from Evans and went up 21-18. The Rebs quickly came within one, which prompted an Arkansas timeout, but the Razorbacks closed it with three straight points that secured the set 25-21.

Set 2

The Rebels came out firing in the second set and went up 10-7 early on. Arkansas couldn’t get much offense going and Ole Miss grew its lead to 17-11, and the Razorbacks huddled. The Rebs kept pressing and limited the Hogs to only a couple of points at a time, and Arkansas ran out of chances. Ole Miss took the second 25-20 and evened up the match.

Set 3

A 5-2 run kicked off with a service ace from Avery Calame made it 11-7 for the Hogs, and the Rebels took a timeout. It worked, and Ole Miss settled in and cut the deficit to one at 17-16, which sent Arkansas to a huddle. The Hogs stayed close, but the Rebels just kept pushing and went up 23-21. Ole Miss got to set point at 24-22, but an error and a kill for the Hogs knotted the score at 24-all. A block by Peppers and Thurman then gave the Razorbacks set point. Ole Miss tried to slow the home team down with a timeout, but one last attack error by the Rebs handed the set to Arkansas 26-24.

Set 4

The Hogs set the tone in the fourth set, limiting the Rebs’ early chances. Arkansas got back-to-back kills out of Duncan and Laurendine, which put the Razorbacks up 7-5 and prompted an early Ole Miss timeout. The two teams traded blows after that and were tied at 14-14 after a kill from Thurman. The Rebs then added three straight points for the lead, and Arkansas called time. The Hogs couldn’t catch up after that, and while they did spoil set point once, Ole Miss took it 25-19, forcing a fifth.

Set 5

Two kills from Thurman put Arkansas up 5-2 quickly in the deciding set, and the Rebs took a timeout to try to stop the bleeding. Ole Miss came within two shortly after that, but three straight points including back-to-back aces from Kylie Weeks made it 11-6 Arkansas. The Hogs kept their foot on the gas for just long enough, and three straight points: a kill Parker and a kill and solo block from Laurendine closed it out 15-8, securing the victory.

Up Next

Arkansas hosts LSU on Sunday at Barnhill Arena at 3 p.m. Tickets are available online or in person, and the match will also be streamed live on SEC Network+.

More Information

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