21 hours ago
Arkansas Athletics
Photo: Arkansas Athletics
The Hogs finished up a three-match homestand in convincing fashion as the No. 14 Razorbacks took down No. 24 Auburn in straight sets on Wednesday night.
Arkansas allowed just 34 points on the night, the least since 2015. The Tigers scored just six in the Hogs‘ 25-6 third set drubbing, which ties the program record in the current scoring era for least points allowed in one set and is the fewest by an SEC foe ever.
The Hogs hit .435 as a team, the sixth-highest clip in program history, and held Auburn to a negative percentage at -.049. Four Razorbacks hit over .300 on the night, and middle blockers Zoi Evans and Sania Petties went 1.000 and .667 on the night, respectively. Evans‘ five kills are a new career high, and Petties racked up seven.
Arkansas had 10 service aces to Auburn’s two. Junior Jada Lawson got her first and second in her collegiate career, and graduate Jill Gillen also added two, which brings her career total to 160 and ties the program ace record.
Set 1
The first set started close, but the Hogs locked in near the midway point and put together an eight-point scoring run that made it 20-11 Arkansas. Auburn scored four of the next six, but a service error and a kill by Evans pushed it to set point for the Razorbacks. The Tigers found a way to spoil it twice, but a kill from Gillen secured the first 25-18 for the home team.
Set 2
The Hogs kept the pressure on in the second set and quickly jumped out to an 8-3 lead, which sent Auburn to a timeout. The Tigers got one back, but from there the Razorbacks rolled on a 9-1 tear which featured an ace from Taylor Head, a solo block from Gillen and pairs of kills from both Gillen and Petties for a 20-6 advantage. The Tigers found a bit of rhythm and hit 10 points, but back-to-back kills from Maggie Cartwright sealed the second 25-10 and put Arkansas up 2-0.
Set 3
There was no stopping the Razorbacks in the third set as an 8-1 run put the Hogs into double digits early at 10-2. A kill by Petties extended the lead and Auburn regrouped with a timeout. It wasn’t much use as a kill from Petties and four straight from Head pushed the Razorbacks‘ advantage to 17-3, their largest lead of the match to that point. An Arkansas service error gave Auburn its fifth point, but the Hogs locked in with kills from Gillen and Evans and two aces from Lawson for a dominant 23-5 edge. The Tigers tacked on one more, but kills from Evans and Cartwright carried the Hogs to a scorching .640 for the set and finished it at 25-6 for the sweep.
Up Next
The Razorbacks have a week off before returning to play for the first SEC road match of the season at LSU on Wednesday, Oct. 4. The match will be broadcast on SEC Network+ and is set for 7 p.m. from Baton Rouge.
