Getting a day of rest after Friday’s night’s five-set victory over Colorado State in the opener of the Woo Pig Invitational, the No. 21 Arkansas volleyball team completed the weekend sweep with a straight-sets, 25-16, 25-17, 25-23, victory over Big Ten foe Michigan inside Barnhill Arena.
Senior outside-hitter Taylor Head led Arkansas with 17 kills on 34 swings, for a .471 hitting percentage. She also had 11 digs, for a double-double, and added a service ace. Junior libero Courtney Jackson had a season-high 16 digs, while the Razorback defense tallied 7.5 blocks, led by junior middle Sania Petties’ four.
A rowdy crowd of 1,387 fans were on hand Sunday, giving Arkansas a total attendance of 9,750 over the team’s four-game homestand this week. That brings the season total to 12,495, with nine home matches yet to be played.
Arkansas jumped out early against the Wolverines, using a pair of three-point runs to take command, capped off by back-to-back kills from Jill Gillen, as the Hogs went up 11-6. Arkansas kept the pressure on with an ace from Jackson to make it 19-12, the Razorbacks’ biggest lead of the set. Arkansas extended its lead to nine with a kill from Gillen and an ace from junior setter Hannah Hogue that served as the 25-16 set point.
Michigan grabbed an early lead in set two, but Arkansas settled in with a 5-1 run and brought the score to 9-6. A Wolverine attack error, followed by two aces from Petties, made it 13-7 in favor of Arkansas. After Michigan cut the lead to 15-14, the Hogs extended the lead right back to 21-16, highlighted by a pair of aces from graduate Maggie Cartwright. A kill from Head put it away 25-17 for the 2-0 match lead.
Arkansas didn’t allow more than one Wolverine point at a time to start set three, jumping to a 10-5 lead. But Michigan strung together a 6-1 run, which tied it at 11-11. A four-point streak then gave the visitors a 21-18 lead, but the Hogs kept clawing to cut it to one. After a late back-and-forth, Cartwright and Petties blocked a Michigan swing and secured the set, 25-23.
Arkansas will face their first road tests this week, traveling to Bowling Green, Ky., for the University Plaza Invitational. The Hogs will face the College of Charleston and No. 22 Western Kentucky on Friday, then battle Troy on Saturday.