Texas A&M drops first conference road match at No. 16 Arkansas, 3-1
In its first Southeastern Conference road test of the season, Texas A&M volleyball fell to No. 16 Arkansas in four sets on Sunday at Barnhill Arena (25-23, 21-25, 25-18, 25-16).
After sweeping Mississippi State in College Station to open SEC play, the Aggies are now 1-1 in conference as Arkansas stretched its winning streak to 10 games.
"Arkansas is a really good volleyball team that is well coached and very experienced,” A&M head coach Jamie Morrison said. “I thought we battled well today in a tough environment and were able to play our style of volleyball.
“We still need to learn to stay true to our style for longer in sets and matches, but that was the longest it’s happened so far this season, which is good progress.”
In a hotly-contested battle, it was Logan Lednicky keeping the Aggies in the match.
Her 23 kills marked both a match-high and a career-high, and her .439 hitting percentage was second only to Arkansas’ Jillian Gillen.
Still, it was the home-standing Razorbacks that prevailed in a point-for-point bout.
Early on, it was evident the match would be determined behind the service line. Both teams showed aggressive presence, keeping the two defenses moving on serve-receive.
Yet in the first set, the experienced Razorbacks found themselves leading by six points before Lednicky's reckoning began as she racked up an impressive nine kills in set one. But even with an established middle and powerhouse right side, six service errors haunted the Aggies as Arkansas took the opener, 25-23.
Both sides proved to be just as aggresive as the other in the second as Ava Underwood & Co. held their ground against the Razorback armory. That defense allowed Brooke Jeffrey, Morgan Perkins and Lednicky to pull ahead.
The nerve-wracking set saw both teams hit over .400 until Bianna Muoneke's kill sealed a 25-21 Aggie victory.
The battle continued through set three until the Hogs found themselves beginning to gain ground by forcing A&M out of system to pull away, 25-18.
The Maroon & White began set four strong but a noticeable momentum swing favored the Hogs.
A&M never recovered from a 7-0 Arkansas scoring run as the 16th-ranked Hogs wrapped up a four-set victory, 25-16.
“I think this conference is a fun one to be in, the crowds are great and there is a lot of energy in the buildings,” Morrison said on his first SEC road match. “We’re excited to have more battles in environments like these throughout the season."
Now 9-3 overall, A&M faces No. 3 Florida in Gainesville on Wednesday.