Razorbacks Take Down Roadrunners in Four at Barnhill

The Volley Hogs closed out their opening weekend on Sunday at Barnhill Arena and secured an undefeated weekend as they took down the UTSA Roadrunners 3-1 (25-21, 25-20, 22-25, 25-17).

Arkansas’ offense was led by strong performances from the trio of Laci Bohannan, Lakin Laurendine and Romani Thurman. Bohannan had a team high 15 kills and hit .414, Laurendine posted 14 kills and hit .237 and Thurman registered 14 kills on a team high .444 hitting percentage. Thurman was also key defensively for Arkansas on Sunday with four blocks, while Laurendine gave the Hogs a big advantage at the service line with three aces.

Junior setter Kiki Remensperger got her first double-double of the season with 39 assists and 13 digs, along with one service ace. In the back row, freshman libero Madi Benne had nine digs, and also put up two aces, including match point for Arkansas. Senior defensive specialist Gaby Cornier added two aces as well, along with five digs.

The Hogs’ block looked strong all weekend and was especially effective on Sunday as the team put up 11 total, the most in their three matches so far. Sophomore Aleki Alexander tallied seven, a new career high and the most for any Razorback since Romani Thurman in September 2025.

Arkansas is 3-0 to start its season with just one set loss over the first three matches.

Set 1

For the first time all weekend, the Razorbacks were consistently challenged by their opponent in the opening set Sunday as it featured nine ties and three lead changes. The two squads continually traded blows until a 5-0 run with two kills from Thurman made it 15-11 Arkansas at the technical timeout. The lead wasn’t safe, though, and UTSA tied it at 16-all shortly after. The Hogs got four of the next six points 20-18 lead, and while the Roadrunners were never far behind, a kill from Bohannan took it to match point and a UTSA error secured a 25-21 first set victory.

Set 2

The second set was a little bit more comfortable for Arkansas to start, with a kill from Laurendine putting the Razorbacks up 12-10 early on, at which point UTSA called time. A 3-0 Razorback run followed, bookended by Bohannan kills and a Laurendine ace. The Runners couldn’t do much to catch up from there, and while they came within striking distance late, a service error gave set point to Arkansas. One more UTSA kill came, but Laurendine shut it down with her own for a 25-20 set two.

Set 3

A 3-0 opening run gave UTSA the spark it needed to threaten the Razorbacks, and while Arkansas did come within one, six unanswered Roadrunner points made it 13-6 quickly. The Hogs continued to fight but didn’t push quite hard enough to put a serious comeback within reach while UTSA cruised to set point. Arkansas did answer with an impressive 7-0 run that had two service aces from Cornier but ultimately ran out of time as a UTSA block gave them the edge at 25-22, forcing Arkansas’ first fourth set all weekend.

Set 4

No lead was safe for either team through the midway point, but Arkansas used a 3-0 run just before the technical timeout to pull ahead 15-12. The Roadrunners kept clawing and cut the deficit to one, but The Hogs came up with a 5-0 streak capped with another Thurman kill, which made it 22-16 and sent UTSA to a huddle. The Roadrunners got one back out the break, but Arkansas locked in and strung together a final 3-0 run, including a match point ace from Benne for the 25-17 set win and 3-1 match victory.

Up Next

The Razorbacks are right back in action with the Big 10/SEC Challenge on Tuesday and Wednesday, hosted by Vanderbilt in Nashville. Arkansas will play Rutgers on Sept. 1 at 3 p.m. and Maryland on Sept. 2 at 3 p.m. Both matches will be streamed on SEC Network+.

More Information

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