Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Paisley Pavliska spent the first two sets on the bench Sunday.
She finished with more kills than she’d ever had in a college match.
The freshman’s 14 kills gave Arkansas a real shot at stealing one on the road. Mississippi State didn’t let it happen.
The Bulldogs won the fifth set 15-7 to take the match 25-16, 25-14, 22-25, 14-25, 15-7.
For the second straight match, the Razorbacks fell behind 2-0 and fought back to force a fifth. They couldn’t close it out this time.
Arkansas volleyball is now 10-10 overall and 2-7 in SEC play.
Fifth set slipped away early
Arkansas got the first point of the deciding set on a Bulldog service error.
Mississippi State answered right away. The Hogs couldn’t put two points together the rest of the set.
The Bulldogs reached 10 first with a 10-6 lead.
State also cashed in on Arkansas mistakes and finished it off 15-7.
The Razorbacks had already done the hard part by getting back to 2-2.
Closing it out was the piece that didn’t come together.
Lineup changes paid off
Pavliska had played in only three matches before Sunday.
Along with the kills, she had nine digs. That was a career best too, and it left her one dig away from a double-double.
Journey Peppers checked in during the second set for her first action since Sept. 12.
The sophomore middle blocker had a team-high three blocks and five kills. She hit .364 and made only one attack error.
Junior setter Kiki Remensperger returned after missing three weeks. She ran the offense for 41 assists and added 16 digs for her eighth double-double this season.
Senior Lakin Laurendine also had 14 kills. She hit .364, best among Arkansas starters.
On the back row, senior Gaby Cornier had a season-high 20 digs and freshman libero Madi Benne had 16.
Third and fourth sets belonged to Arkansas
Kills from Peppers and Pavliska put the Hogs up 5-3 early in the third. It was their biggest lead of the match to that point.
State went back ahead 8-6 before a 4-0 Arkansas run made it 12-9 and drew a Bulldog timeout.
The Razorbacks led 15-11 at the technical timeout, then watched State go on a 4-1 run to get within a point.
Arkansas got to 20 first. Peppers and Remensperger teamed up on a block for a 23-21 lead, and Pavliska ended it with a kill after a State timeout.
The fourth set went back and forth until two Arkansas errors gave State an 8-7 edge.
Laurendine carried the Hogs out of that spot. Her kill got them to 10 first, and a solo block plus another kill made it 12-9.
Benne served an ace, and a State net fault added another point. Arkansas pulled away to 17-10 and won the set 25-14.
First two sets were all State
Arkansas scored first in the opener and then fell behind 6-1.
Parker Duncan’s ace cut it to two. After that, the Bulldogs kept the Hogs from scoring more than two in a row and pushed their lead to 10.
An Arkansas timeout didn’t slow them down. State won 25-16.
The second set looked a lot like the first. The Bulldogs went up 7-3 and led by at least two through their first 10 points.
State’s quick defense helped it build a 15-10 lead at the break and 18-10 after that.
Arkansas scored only four more points the rest of the way and lost 25-14.
Oklahoma comes to town Friday
The Razorbacks are back home Friday, Oct. 30, against Oklahoma. First serve is at 6 p.m. on SEC Network.
It’s Arkansas’ Halloween Bash. There’ll be trick-or-treating with the Razorback mascots before the match, plus a costume contest.
