Arkansas came up short against Maryland on Tuesday night, dropping a four-set battle 3-1 in their second match of the Big Ten/SEC Volleyball Challenge.
The Terps took the match 26-24, 28-30, 22-25 and 18-25.
Both squads battled the whole night long. There were 35 total ties and 13 lead changes spread across the four sets. Neither team could pull ahead for very long.
Maryland finished with more kills at 63 and hit .285 as a team. The Terps also racked up 80 digs on the night.
The Hogs stayed close though and hit .259 while picking up 13 team blocks compared to Maryland’s nine.
Sophomore Parker Duncan carried a big load for Arkansas. She posted a double-double with a team-high 18 kills and 11 digs.
Fifth-year Laci Bohannan and senior Romani Thurman each chipped in 13 kills. Both players came through when the Razorbacks needed points the most.
Junior setter Kiki Remensperger also grabbed a double-double. She set a season high with 44 assists and added 11 digs of her own.
Senior Gaby Cornier led the defense with a team-best 13 digs. Freshman libero Madi Benne wasn’t far behind with 11 digs and three aces.
Arkansas wins a tight opener
The Razorbacks trailed for most of set one but never let Maryland get comfortable. Back-to-back kills from Thurman pulled the Hogs within one at 22-21.
Maryland called a timeout to regroup but Arkansas answered right back. An ace from Benne helped the team add two more points to the lead.
The Terps tied it up at 24-24 after another timeout. A solo block from senior Layla Smith and a Maryland hitting error sealed set one for the Razorbacks 26-24.
Set two also went back and forth. Arkansas led through the middle of the set but Maryland stayed within a point or two the entire time.
The set tied at 15-15 and saw nine more ties before it reached 24-24. Kills from Bohannan and Duncan then put the Hogs ahead 28-27.
Maryland called a timeout and rallied back. A Maryland block ended the set 30-28 and tied the match at one set each.
Maryland pulls away late
Maryland grabbed the lead early in set three. Arkansas answered with a 3-0 run and an ace from Benne tied things up at 7-7.
A kill from senior Aleki Alexander put the Razorbacks ahead 12-10. Maryland then scored five straight points to take a 17-14 lead.
Arkansas fought back with a 4-0 run that ended on a Cornier ace putting the team up 19-18.
Maryland closed the set on a run of its own and won 25-22 for a 2-1 match lead.
The fourth set slipped away early for the Hogs. Maryland built a 15-9 lead by the media timeout and never eased off.
A 3-0 run from the Terps forced an Arkansas timeout. The Razorbacks tried to chip away at the gap but ran out of time.
Freshman Livia Niu served well and spoiled four Maryland match points in a row.
A hitting error at the line finally gave Maryland the set 25-18 and the match win.
Middle blockers Layla Smith and Aleki Alexander both had strong nights at the net.
Smith hit .412 with no errors and added three blocks while Alexander finished with eight total blocks.
Looking toward Syracuse
The loss moves Arkansas to 3-2 on the season with six non-conference matches still left to play.
The Razorbacks get a week off before heading to Syracuse, N.Y. for the Showdown at the Net ACC/SEC Challenge.
The team faces the Orange on Sept. 9 at 5 p.m. with the match streaming live on ACCNX.
