Razorbacks Fall in Four to Golden Hurricane on Saturday

Despite taking the first set and making a big push near the end, the Razorbacks fell in four sets (25-21, 19-25, 19-25, 23-25) to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane on Saturday night to close out the Wooo Pig Invitational.

Three Hogs tallied double-digit kills in the effort: Romani Thurman with 14, Lolo Lambert with 11, and Parker Duncan with 10. Lambert registered a double-double in her second collegiate match with 12 digs on the night.

Arkansas ran two setters on the night in transfers Kiki Remensperger and Livia Niu, the Razorback debut for the latter. Each chipped in solidly on offense and defense – Remensperger had 27 assists and nine digs and Niu put up 10 assists and eight digs.

Redshirt junior Kylie Weeks got her first-ever start at libero on Saturday and registered a team-high 16 digs. As part of its defensive effort, Arkansas had four players with 4+ blocks, including five from Duncan and freshman Journey Peppers.

Set 1

A strong showing by the Razorback defense early was answered by a five-point offensive run by Tulsa, which propelled the Golden Hurricane to a 9-5 lead. Kills by Parker Duncan, and Peppers kept the Hogs in it and they kept chipping away. Down 15-13, Remensperger got a kill out of the media break to come within one, and a block from Duncan and Zoi Evans shortly after followed by a kill from Peppers kept it at 19-18. Back-to-back service aces by Remensperger gave the Razorbacks a 20-19 lead, forcing a Tulsa timeout. The Razorback offense continued to accelerate and forced another Tulsa timeout with Arkansas leading 23-20. Lambert got a kill to bring it to set pont, and while Tulsa spoiled it once, Arkansas came out with the 25-21 set victory.

Set 2

Tulsa started out strong and led the Razorbacks 6-4 early. After a series of back and forth, the Hogs quickly trailed 10-6 behind Tulsa, and the Golden Hurricane came cruising to a 15-7 lead at the media timeout. Following a kill by Duncan and back-to-back blocks by Peppers, the Razorbacks narrowed the gap to 15-11. The Razorbacks continued to answer and capitalize off Tulsa’s service errors. Lambert kept the offense rolling with kills back-to-back and brought the score to 18-16 trailing Tulsa, forcing the Golden Hurricane to take a timeout. They rallied back right away and pushed their lead to 21-17, prompting an Arkansas huddle. Tulsa continued to keep its foot on the gas at 23-19, forcing another Razorback timeout. The visiting team went on to win the second set 25-19.

Set 3

Tulsa shot out to an early lead over the Razorbacks 5-2, but in similar fashion, the Hogs answered quickly. A kill by Thurman brought the Hogs within two at 6-4, but Tulsa rallied and went on a run, taking a 9-5 lead as the Razorbacks took a timeout. The Golden Hurricane kept up the pressure and extended the advantage to 15-8. Arkansas came close at points and gave chase, trailing 20-15. A service ace by Niu shortened Tulsa’s lead by three and they took a timeout. Tulsa responded and made it 22-17 as Arkansas took their final timeout of the set. The Golden Hurricane didn’t allow the Hogs any opportunity to catch up and took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-19 set win.

Set 4

Arkansas kept up with Tulsa early in the fourth but still couldn’t find a way to get any sustaining runs or a lead. A kill by Thurman closed the gap 12-10, but Tulsa was able to answer and went up 15-10. The Razorbacks were able to bounce back some and took advantage of Tulsa errors but found themselves down 22-15. Following a timeout, Arkansas found some life with kills from freshman Sydney Maue and Thurman, and a block and kill from Duncan. Leading 22-19, Tulsa took a timeout. While Arkansas did bring it within one with a kill from Thurman and a service error kept hope alive, Tulsa put down one final kill at 25-23 to secure the match victory.

Up Next

Arkansas moves on to the Showdown at the Net versus Boston College at Barnhill Arena on Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. Single and season tickets are available online, by phone or in person, and the match will be streamed live on SEC Network+.

More Information

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