SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – While it took some close sets and lineup adjustments, the No. 19 Arkansas volleyball team earned two victories on Saturday, Aug. 30 to conclude its opening weekend in California 3-0.
The Hogs played Sacramento State in the first match of the day and swept the Hornets 3-0. They played host Cal Poly for the nightcap and while the Mustangs took the opening set, Arkansas righted the ship for a 3-1 win.
Transfer outside hitter Romani Thurman kept the momentum up after her first match as a Hog and tallied 27 kills, nine blocks and hit .350 over the two Saturday matches. Fellow hitter Aniya Madkin made her Arkansas debut in the opening match and finished the day with 22 total kills and a .270 hitting percentage. Senior setter Hannah Hogue was rock solid as always with 20+ assists in each outing, with a double-double against Cal Poly (52 assists, 18 digs).
Arkansas’ middle blockers also contributed heavily on both sides of the ball in both matches. Sania Petties combined for 23 kills and seven blocks, her 15 against Cal Poly matches her career high. Zoi Evans had 11 kills and five blocks on the day and hit .667.
Senior libero Courtney Jackson anchored the defensive extremely well and registered 35 total digs and had a double-double against Cal Poly with 25 digs and 10 assists.
Match 1: Sacramento State
Arkansas’ first match of the day may have been a sweep, but it was a tight battle between both teams all the way through. The Hogs surrendered the lead midway through the first set against Sacramento State and trailed by four points at 12-8. They caught up quickly, but it was still close for the remainder of the set, with two more ties and the teams knotted at 19-19, which sent the Hornets to a timeout. A few Sac State attack errors put Arkansas up by two shortly after and while the Hornets threatened at the end, an ace by Thurman shut the door on the set 25-22 for the Hogs.
Sac State got out to strong start in the second set, but a few errors and an ace by Jackson pushed Arkansas to a 14-11 advantage. The Hogs kept the Hornets at bay from there. Evans and Jada Lawson added two kills apiece and brought the score to 21-17, and Sac State huddled again. Sac State then got four of the next five points and cut their deficit to one, which sent Arkansas to regroup with a timeout. The Hogs reached set point on a kill from Lawson, but the Hornets tied it at 24-all with an ace. The next serve was an error, and Madkin got her fourth kill of the day, which sealed the set 26-24 in favor of Arkansas.
The two teams steadily traded points at the beginning of set three, but a string of Sac State errors, two kills from Thurman and an ace from Kylie Weeks made for a 6-0 run and sent the Hornets to a timeout trailing 10-5. Sac State found a rhythm and came within one at 13-12, but Arkansas didn’t allow the opponent to get more than two points at a time. The Hogs reached 20 first off a Sac State service error, but the Hornets kept pushing and managed to stay within two until a service error gave Arkansas set and match point. Sac State got the next, but an error made it 25-22 for the Razorback set and match victory.
Match 2: Cal Poly
The first set of the tournament finale was close to start with three ties through the 10th point. From there, the home team began to pull away and quickly went up 14-11. Arkansas cut the deficit to two, but the Mustangs used a 4-0 run to gain a solid advantage. The Hogs kept on their heels and came within one, but it was too late as three straight Cal Poly points closed the set 25-21 for the Mustangs.
Cal Poly didn’t back down and held the lead for a large portion of the second set, up by as many as five points. The Hogs began to push back and a pair of kills from Petties tied it at 19-all, which sent the Mustangs to a timeout. Arkansas got the next three out of the break and despite another huddle, Cal Poly couldn’t mount a comeback and a kill from Madkin made it 25-22 and tied the match.
The Hogs used a great service run from Weeks early on that tallied six straight points and put them up 11-4. Cal Poly struggled to generate any lasting runs, but Arkansas kept the pressure on and back-to-back kills from Thurman made it 18-10 Arkansas. The Mustangs regrouped with a timeout, but it was all Hogs the rest of the way. A kill from Evans and an ace from Hogue made the score 25-16 and put Arkansas ahead 2-1 in the match.
Arkansas carried its momentum into the fourth frame, but Cal Poly was never far behind. The Mustangs drew up a 6-0 run that took the score from 8-4 to 10-9 in their favor, which sent the Hogs to a timeout. Cal Poly held the lead until two errors and a kill by Thurman pushed the advantage Arkansas’ way at 17-15. The Mustangs called time and stayed close but kills from Madkin and Ruy and a Ruy ace made it 23-19 Razorbacks. Cal Poly tacked on two more points, but Madkin’s final kill finished the set 25-21 and the match 3-1.
Up Next
Arkansas returns home for the Wooo Pig Invitational next weekend, a four-day, five-team tournament at Barnhill Arena. The Hogs will play one match a day from Thursday-Sunday, against Rutgers, Wichita State, Louisiana Tech and Little Rock, respectively. Single match and season tickets are available via Razorback Ticket Center.