FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Hogs returned to Barnhill Arena on Thursday night and celebrated with a sweep as No. 21 Arkansas took down Rutgers 25-17, 25-19, and 25-20.
Jada Lawson and Sania Petties both registered nine kills each, and Lawson also posted two service aces for the Razorbacks. Senior libero Courtney Jackson led the team in digs with 14, while redshirt sophomore Kylie Weeks has 12, and both put up a pair of aces. Zoi Evans and Romani Thurman provided excellent defense at the net with four blocks apiece.
Arkansas was especially good from the service line on Thursday with eight aces to Rutgers’ three, including one from redshirt freshman Lo Jones, who made her Razorback debut in the match.
Set 1
Arkansas used a 4-0 run bookended by aces from Weeks and took a 7-3 lead early on. The Scarlet Knights stayed close and tied it at 12-all, but the Hogs fired back with a three-point streak and held a 15-12 advantage at the media timeout. It was all Arkansas from there and the Razorbacks closed out the set on a 4-0 run, punctuated with a kill from freshman Aniya Madkin, for the 25-17 victory.
Set 2
The momentum swung in the Scarlet Knights’ favor in the beginning of the middle frame as they held the Hogs to no more than two points at a time and jumped out to a solid 15-10 lead at the media timeout. The break revitalized the Razorbacks and four straight points, including two kills from Madkin and an ace from Jones, pushed Arkansas within one. Rutgers called time and there were three tie scores shortly after until a kill from Lawson and a Rutgers attack error made it 20-18 Arkansas. Rutgers took a timeout but the Hogs strung together four straight to push it to set point. The Scarlet Knights got one more but Thurman shut the door on the set 25-19 and Arkansas went up 2-0 in the match.
Set 3
There were seven ties early in the third set, but a 4-0 run by Arkansas that featured back-to-back aces from Lawson and a block by Evans and Thurman made it 12-8 Hogs. Rutgers responded, though, and they went on a six-point streak for a 17-13 lead that forced a timeout by Arkansas. It worked, and the Razorbacks tied it up at 17-17, capped off by an ace from Jackson. The score was tied two more times after that, but Arkansas kept pushing and an ace by Hannah Hogue took it to match point. Thurman ended it with her seventh kill of the night and secured the sweep.
Up Next
The Wooo Pig Invitational continues Friday with three matches: Little Rock vs. Louisiana Tech at 11 a.m., Rutgers vs. Little Rock at 4:30 p.m. and Arkansas vs. Wichita State at 7 p.m. The Hogs’ evening match has been deemed a Red Out and wil be broadcast live on SEC Network+.
More Information
Visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com for the latest information on all things Arkansas Volleyball. You can also find the Razorbacks on social media by liking us on Facebook (Arkansas Razorback Volleyball) and following us on Twitter and Instagram (@RazorbackVB).