Razorbacks Register Second Sweep Over Vols

For the first time since 2014, Arkansas volleyball has defeated Tennessee twice in a season after the Hogs swept the Vols 3-0 on Saturday.

It was the second sweep in as many nights for the Hogs, and the team is now 13-5 overall and 4-4 in conference play. Tennessee moves to 10-10 and 4-4 in the SEC.

Jill Gillen led the Razorbacks with 15 kills, and Maggie Cartwright also registered double digits with 10. For the second night in a row, Arkansas hit its best percentage as a team since September at .352, which also matches the second-best all season. Five Hogs hit over .300 individually on the day in Gillen, Cartwright, Taylor Head, Tatum Shipes and Abigail Archibong.

Set 1
A three-point run by the Hogs with two Gillen aces and a dump kill from Gracie Ryan helped the home team pull away from the Vols for a 9-4 lead early on. The Razorbacks maintained control from there and didn’t allow more than two Tennessee points at a time and kills from Cartwright and Hailey Dirrigl put Arkansas up 15-10 at the media timeout. The Hogs extended the lead to eight at 22-14 off a kill from Head and pushed it to set point with a kill from Gillen. Tennessee scored four straight, but another Gillen kill finished the set 25-19 for the Hogs.

Set 2
Arkansas got hot early in the second with back-to-back aces from Hannah Hogue, and the Hogs quickly got a 5-1 lead, which sent the Vols to a timeout. Arkansas maintained the momentum after that and hit 10 points first with a kill from Dirrigl, and Tennessee couldn’t cut the deficit to less than five. A 5-1 run with four Gillen kills and a Hog block made the lead 19-10 Arkansas, and the Hogs rolled from there. Five unanswered Razorbacks points, which included back-to-back blocks, closed the second set 25-13 for the home team. Arkansas hit .667 in the set, with eight kills from Gillen on 11 attempts for .727.

Set 3
The Vols came the closest to the Hogs all night in the third set, and while the Razorbacks had the lead to start, Tennessee used four-point run and went up 8-6. The Vols held the edge steadily from there and kept the Hogs to no more than two points at a time midway through. The Hogs then strung together a 4-1 run capped off by kills from Cartwright and Dirrigl and found themselves ahead 19-18. Tennessee took a timeout and while the score was tied three times after that, Arkansas settled in. Two kills from Shipes and Dirrigl put the Hogs two points away, and Ryan delivered back-to-back service aces for the 25-21 set victory and match sweep.

Up Next
Arkansas completes its five-match homestand with a midweek match against Texas A&M on Wednesday, Oct. 19. The match will be broadcast live on SEC Network.

More Information
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