Tide Wash Out Hogs in Four Sets on Wednesday
The Crimson Tide snapped a 10-match losing streak against Arkansas on Wednesday night as the Hogs fell in four sets to Alabama (16-25, 22-25, 25-16, 14-25).
Freshman Parker Duncan led the offensive effort for the Hogs with 14 kills and had just two errors on 32 attempts for a .375 hitting percentage. She also added 10 digs for a double-double, the third of her career. Graduate outside hitter Jada Lawson was just behind with nine kills, a season high for her, and she tallied six digs.
Sophomore setters Livia Niu and Kiki Remensperger combined for 39 assists on the night, 21 for Niu and 18 for Remensperger. Remensperger had a team-high 16 digs for her 13th double-double of the season.
The Razorbacks registered eight team blocks on the match, with six from Romani Thurman and four apiece from Zoi Evans and Journey Peppers. Evans and Peppers also added 12 kills between the two.
Set 1
The Crimson Tide took an early lead, which included a few freebies off errors from the Hogs, and carried a 15-9 lead into the media timeout. Arkansas tacked on two more after that, but the Tide kept rolling and pushed their lead to 18-11, at which point the Hogs huddled. Any time Arkansas shifted the momentum, the team couldn’t turn it into a scoring run and ran out of time. Two Razorback attack errors ended the set 25-16 in Alabama’s favor.
Set 2
The Hogs started the second set on a 3-0 run, but it didn’t take long for the Tide to take control back and they quickly jumped out to a 9-5 advantage. The Hogs kept chipping away and cut the deficit to two thanks to a nice service run from Niu, which prompted an Alabama timeout. It was close from there and the score was tied at 18-18 off a Tide error and 19-19 with a kill from Lawson, but Alabama got the next two and the Hogs called time. The Razorbacks stayed vigilant and back-to-back kills from Duncan tied it at 22-22. After an Alabama timeout, the Tide got the next three points and closed it out 25-22.
Set 3
Three straight blocks from Thurman and Evans and an Alabama attack error opened the set strongly for the Hogs. Alabama got one point back, but Arkansas quickly answered with a setter dump from Remensperger that ended a long rally and a kill from Lawson, which made it 6-1 and sent the Tide to a timeout. The Hogs continued to limit them to just one or two points at a time, while a pair of 4-0 and 3-0 runs had the Razorbacks cruising with a 16-7 lead. The Tide began to find their footing a bit after that, but the Hogs’ early surge was too much for them to overcome and Arkansas took the set 25-16 and extended the match.
Set 4
The fourth set was back-and-forth to start, but an ace from Avery Calame tied it at 7-7. The Tide locked in from there and went on a 9-2 run that quickly put them ahead 16-9. Two kills from Lawson cut the deficit to five, but a 6-2 run from Alabama extended its lead to 22-14 and put the Hogs in the danger zone. Following an Arkansas timeout, Alabama kept the pressure on and finished the set with three straight points for a 25-14 victory and 3-1 match win.
Up Next
Arkansas stays home for Senior Night on Friday, its last match at Barnhill Arena this season. Action between the Hogs and Mississippi State Bulldogs is set for 7 p.m. and will be streamed live on SEC Network+.
More Information
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