Razorbacks Fall in Four in Series Opener with Bulldogs

The Razorbacks kicked off their last home series of the regular season on Saturday evening but fell 3-1 to the visiting Mississippi State Bulldogs. 

The Bulldogs have now won 11 matches in a row and are 14-2 in SEC play. The Hogs are 9-7 in conference and 18-9 overall. 

Junior Jill Gillen had 20 kills for the Razorbacks and contributed 10 digs for a double-double. Sophomore Taylor Head also had a double-double with 12 kills and 13 digs, and senior setter Gracie Ryan tallied 50 assists. 

Ryan’s now has 2,765 assists in her career and has officially moved into sixth place in all-time program history.

Mississippi State quickly jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the first set, but the Hogs stayed close and a pair of points including an ace from Head tied it 8-8. The two teams played tight from there but a three-point run for the Bulldogs put them up 15-12 at the media timeout. The Razorbacks couldn’t find enough momentum after that and trailed for the remainder of the set. Three straight kills sent Mississippi State to set point, and while Gillen spoiled it once, the set ended 25-20 for the Bulldogs off an Arkansas error. 

After a close start to the second set, the Bulldogs took a three-point lead off an Arkansas error at 8-5. Mississippi State found an answer every time Arkansas began to threaten, but the Hogs broke away with three straight points including for a 15-12 edge at the media timeout. The Bulldogs came close, but the home team added a three-point run for a 19-17 lead and sent Mississippi State to a timeout. It was all Arkansas from there, and two kills from Maggie Cartwright sent the set to 24 and closed it, 25-21, to win the set for the Hogs and tie the match 1-1. 

The third set saw eight ties early on, but four straight kills for the Razorbacks from Abigail Archibong, Gillen and Ellease Crumpton gave them an 11-8 lead. Arkansas never trailed by less than two from there, and a three-point run that featured a kill and ace from Head made it 19-14. Mississippi State called time and the Bulldogs went on a tear. They scored six of the next seven points to tie it at 20-all, and the Hogs took a timeout. The Bulldogs rattled off five unanswered points to complete the comeback and took the second set 25-20, and a lead in the match 2-1. 

The fourth set was more of the same for the two teams, who battled closely to start. With the score tied 5-5, Gillen fired in three straight kills for Arkansas, and a Mississippi State error made it 9-5, Hogs. Arkansas was able to maintain its lead for a while, but an error gave the Bulldogs a 15-14 advantage at the media timeout. The Hogs went down by three after that, and couldn’t shift the momentum after another timeout. Mississippi State’s offense continued to pour it on with a. 6-1 run and went up 22-16. Arkansas added just two more points, and a kill ended it 25-18 and gave the Bulldogs the match, 3-1.

Up Next

The two teams meet again for the series finale on Sunday, Nov. 21 at 3 p.m. The match will be broadcast live on SEC Network. Sunday’s match also serves as Senior Day for Arkansas, and Lauren Evans, Ellease Crumpton, Abbigail McGee and Gracie Ryan will be honored postgame for their achievements and careers at Arkansas.

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