Arkansas volleyball defeats Texas A&M 3-1, starts perfect in SEC play

The No. 16 Arkansas Razorbacks volleyball team was able to dispatch the Texas A&M Aggies 3-1 on Sunday to start SEC play with a perfect 2-0 record.

With the win, Arkansas’ current winning streak reaches 10-straight. Their last loss came all the way back on August 31 when No. 1 Wisconsin came to Barnhill Arena.

Sunday’s showdown against Texas A&M was the second of two weekend matches for the Hogs. The first match took place on Friday night when they took down South Carolina in straight sets.

Up next, Arkansas will have the final match of their three-game homestand when they welcome No. 24 Auburn to Barnhill Arena on Wednesday Sept. 27. The match will start at 7:00 p.m. and can be seen on SEC Network.

Let’s take a closer look and recap of how each set played out during Arkansas’ 3-1 win over Texas A&M.

Set 1

In the first set, the Hogs and Aggies went back-and-forth until Arkansas was able to put together three straight points to build a 12-8 lead. The Aggies responded with a run of their own to tie the set at 17.

Neither team could pull away by more than two points from that point on. Arkansas had control until Texas A&M spoiled one set point, but graduate senior Jill Gillen immediately saved the day for the Hogs. Gillen’s subsequent kill gave the Hogs a 25-23 win in the first set.

Set 2

The second set played out similar to the end of the first one. It was a back-and-forth contest until Texas A&M was able to take advantage of a couple of Arkansas mistakes. After trailing 9-7, the Hogs continued to mount a fight and keep the score close.

Maggie Cartwright and Jill Gillen’s stellar play gave Arkansas a 15-14 advantage before the Aggies mounted an aggressive attack that saw them score five of the next seven points to make it 19-17. They rode that momentum to a 25-21 win in the second set.

Set 3

After losing the second set, Arkansas came out of the gates firing on all cylinders for the third. They quickly pulled out to a 6-2 lead on the back of a few Aggie errors. The Aggies quickly fought back and tied it up before the Hogs pulled back in front by four using a pair of blocks from Zoi Evans and Hannah Hogue.

Arkansas rode the momentum and stifled any run that Texas A&M tried to put together in the back-half of the set. The Hogs cruised to a 25-18 win in the third set and a 2-1 lead in the match.

Set 4

To Texas A&M’s credit, they didn’t back down with their backs against the wall. The Aggies built a four-point lead early and held it through the halfway point of the set. Texas A&M’s blistering start was short-lived, though, as the Hogs came thundering back.

Jill Gillen had two stellar blocks to give Arkansas a 13-12 lead and the Hogs never looked back from that point on. They jumped out to a 19-15 lead and kept rolling with four-straight kills. The final kill of the match belonged to senior Taylor Head, to seal a 3-1 match win over the Aggies.

Story originally appeared on Razorbacks Wire