Arkansas’ road woes continued Sunday as the Hogs were swept by the Mississippi State Bulldogs 3-0 in Starkville.
The Razorbacks drop to 4-4 in the SEC, 14-6 overall with the loss. All four of Arkansas’ conference losses have come in the last four matches, five of six on the season have come away from Fayetteville.
Aniya Madkin had a team-high nine kills on the day, and Zoi Evans and Olivia Ruy both chipped in seven apiece. Evans also contributed five blocks, the most for any Razorback and tied for highest across both teams.
Senior setter Hannah Hogue had her 15th double-double of the season with 23 assists and 14 digs, along with a kill and two blocks.
Set 1
The opening set was back-and-forth for a large portion of the way, with four ties early on. The Bulldogs began to pull away with a 5-1 run that gave them a 14-9 lead, but Arkansas punched right back with five straight that tied it up. The teams continued to trade blows and tied it five more times through the 20th point, which State got first. The Hogs tied it at 22-all off a kill from Evans, but the Bulldogs hit set point, which prompted an Arkansas timeout. Arkansas got one out of the break, but a Razorback attack error swayed the set 25-23 to Mississippi State.
Set 2
The Hogs couldn’t get much going early in the middle frame but strung together a 3-0 run highlighted by an ace from Romani Thurman for a 9-8 lead. Arkansas limited State to one point at a time for a bit, but back-to-back Arkansas errors and a kill swung the lead 14-13 in favor of the Bulldogs. Mississippi State settled in and got six of the next nine and hit 20 first, which left the Hogs down by four. Arkansas trimmed the deficit to two, but the Bulldogs stayed vigilant and used a 5-3 run to close the set 25-21 and took a 2-0 lead in the match.
Set 3
In a must-win set, the Razorbacks had two early leads, but the Bulldogs rolled from there and quickly went up 9-5. Arkansas couldn’t generate a lasting run to chip far enough into the State lead though, and the Bulldogs got to 20 points first up by eight. Arkansas called time shortly after, but the State advantage loomed too large and a final Bulldog kill made it 25-15 to seal the sweep for them.
Up Next
Arkansas returns to Barnhill Arena on Wednesday night for a conference match-up against No. 24 Florida. It’s Big Red’s Halloween Bash at the Barn, and fans are encouraged to come in costume. First serve is set for 7 p.m., and the match will 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).
