The Hogs finished up a three-match homestand in convincing fashion as the No. 14 Razorbacks took down No. 24 Auburn in straight sets on Wednesday night.
Arkansas allowed just 34 points on the night, the least since 2015. The Tigers scored just six in the Hogs’ 25-6 third set drubbing, which ties the program record in the current scoring era for least points allowed in one set and is the fewest by an SEC foe ever.
The Hogs hit .435 as a team, the sixth-highest clip in program history, and held Auburn to a negative percentage at -.049. Four Razorbacks hit over .300 on the night, and middle blockers Zoi Evans and Sania Petties went 1.000 and .667 on the night, respectively. Evans’ five kills are a new career high, and Petties racked up seven.
Arkansas had 10 service aces to Auburn’s two. Junior Jada Lawson got her first and second in her collegiate career, and graduate Jill Gillen also added two, which brings her career total to 160 and ties the program ace record.
Set 1
The first set started close, but the Hogs locked in near the midway point and put together an eight-point scoring run that made it 20-11 Arkansas. Auburn scored four of the next six, but a service error and a kill by Evans pushed it to set point for the Razorbacks. The Tigers found a way to spoil it twice, but a kill from Gillen secured the first 25-18 for the home team.
Set 2
The Hogs kept the pressure on in the second set and quickly jumped out to an 8-3 lead, which sent Auburn to a timeout. The Tigers got one back, but from there the Razorbacks rolled on a 9-1 tear which featured an ace from Taylor Head, a solo block from Gillen and pairs of kills from both Gillen and Petties for a 20-6 advantage. The Tigers found a bit of rhythm and hit 10 points, but back-to-back kills from Maggie Cartwright sealed the second 25-10 and put Arkansas up 2-0.
Set 3
There was no stopping the Razorbacks in the third set as an 8-1 run put the Hogs into double digits early at 10-2. A kill by Petties extended the lead and Auburn regrouped with a timeout. It wasn’t much use as a kill from Petties and four straight from Head pushed the Razorbacks’ advantage to 17-3, their largest lead of the match to that point. An Arkansas service error gave Auburn its fifth point, but the Hogs locked in with kills from Gillen and Evans and two aces from Lawson for a dominant 23-5 edge. The Tigers tacked on one more, but kills from Evans and Cartwright carried the Hogs to a scorching .640 for the set and finished it at 25-6 for the sweep.
Up Next
The Razorbacks have a week off before returning to play for the first SEC road match of the season at LSU on Wednesday, Oct. 4. The match will be broadcast on SEC Network+ and is set for 7 p.m. from Baton Rouge.
More Information
Visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com for the latest information on all things Arkansas Volleyball. You can also find the Razorbacks on social media by liking us on Facebook (Arkansas Razorback Volleyball) and following us on Twitter and Instagram (@RazorbackVB).
How Arkansas addressed receiver position in transfer portal
Arkansas offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino lost plenty of production in the passing game to the transfer portal and NFL Draft following the 2024 season.
With starting quarterback Taylen Green set to return for a second season in Fayetteville, the Hogs had to find the 6-foot-6 passer some new weapons. Star receiver Andrew Armstrong is on his way to the NFL, veterans Isaac TeSlaa and Tyrone Broden are out of eligibility, and speedster Isaiah Sategna transferred to Oklahoma.
Along with those departures, younger prospects Dazmin James and Davion Dozier also elected to hit the portal, which left plenty of recruiting for Petrino, receivers coach Ronnie Fouch and head coach Sam Pittman.
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Armstrong led all Southeastern Conference players with 78 receptions for 1,140 receiving yards in the regular season, but it was really a one-man show with him all season.
TeSlaa added 545 receiving yards and Sategna was second on the team with 37 catches. At 6-foot-7, Broden could never break through as a true difference maker, as he caught just 15 passes for 197 yards and barely played late in the year.
Of the players the Hogs are set to return at wide receiver — Jordan Anthony, CJ Brown, Krosse Johnson, Bryce Stephens, Monte Harrison and Shamar Easter (moved from tight end to receiver for Liberty Bowl) — the production from 2024 only combined for a total 18 receptions, 243 yards and one touchdown.
Incoming freshmen such as Warren (Ark.) product Antonio Jordan and Missouri City (Tx.) four-star Ja’Kayden Ferguson are intriguing prospects, but it was clear the Hogs needed to add talent in the transfer portal.
So far, the Razorbacks have signed five transfer portal wide receivers. Three of them put together very solid seasons in 2024 for their respective programs, while one — former four-star and Pine Bluff native Courtney Crutchfield — redshirted and the fifth, Ismael Cisse, was a contributor at Stanford.
Arkansas Wide Receiver Production
Note: Courtney Crutchfield is not part of the table, as he did not record any statistics in 2024.
O’Mega Blake (6-foot-2, 180 lbs) began his career at South Carolina, where he spent three seasons and caught 20 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns. At Charlotte in 2024, Blake caught five passes for 205 yards and three scores in the Nov. 23 win over Florida Atlantic.
Hailing from Fresno State, Raylen Sharpe (5-foot-9, 165 lbs) is very familiar with Petrino. Sharpe spent 2022-23 at Missouri State, where Petrino was head coach from 2020-22. Sharpe caught 73 passes for 991 yards and seven touchdowns at Missouri State in 2023.
Kam Shanks (5-foot-8, 180 lbs) will more-than-likely be the favorite to return punts after leading the nation with 329 punt return yards and two punt return touchdowns this season. Shanks caught five passes for 31 yards and one score in the Sept. 14 loss at Arkansas.
After being committed to Arkansas for nearly seven months out of high school, Courtney Crutchfield signed with Missouri and redshirted after appearing in just two games in 2024. He was rated by Rivals as the No. 2 overall recruit and No. 1 wide receiver in the state of Arkansas in the 2024 recruiting class.
The latest addition to the class, Cisse signed with the Razorbacks on Monday evening following a visit over the weekend. He logged 381 snaps as a freshman in 2024, per Pro Football Focus. Cisse is a former three-star recruit out of Cherry Creek High School in Englewood, Colorado.
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Overshadowed by Arkansas’ 52-point offensive performance was the difficulties the Razorbacks had stopping Tennessee guard Chaz Lanier, who scored 29 points on 10-for-20 shooting, including five threes in a 24-point loss against the No. 1 Volunteers.
Now, the Hogs must deal with a quartet of guards against No. 23 Ole Miss. All four can score in the “randomness” of coach Chris Beard’s system. The Rebels’ top four scorers, Sean Pedulla, Jaylen Murray, Matthew Murrell and Dre Davis are all listed as guards and average double figures.
“These guys run motion,” assistant coach Chin Coleman said. “It’s all random and it’s all different and so, while they’re moving and cutting and screening, you’re going to have to guard every kind of screen there is in the game of basketball. That motion is unpredictable. The freedom of movement, cutting, screening. It’s hard to scheme against. It’s hard to scout.”
Arkansas also must contend with an Ole Miss team that wins the turnover battle on both ends of the floor. The Rebels commit the ninth-fewest turnovers in the country (9.3) and are third-best in turnover margin (+7.0).
“We want to stay on the attack and make plays for one another and not have a lot of live-ball turnovers,” Coleman said. “Those are the ones that we can’t defend against. We want to make teams play against our set defense, which is one of the best in the country. If we can do that and not have live ball turnovers, we’ll be fine.”
Tennessee forced the Razorbacks to commit 15 turnovers, picked up 10 steals and turned it into 13 points. Ole Miss ranks fourth in the SEC at 10.2 steals a game.
Tipoff between Ole Miss and Arkansas is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday and will be broadcast on ESPN2.
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