Arkansas played its first two road matches of the season on Friday and came away with two victories.
The No. 17 Razorbacks started the day with a sweep over College of Charleston in the first-ever meeting between the two teams. Arkansas then faced host Western Kentucky that evening and rallied back from a 2-1 deficit for a thrilling five-set win, the second of the season for the Hogs.
Senior outside hitter led Arkansas in both matches with 14 kills against College of Charleston and 21 against WKU. Junior libero Courtney Jackson paced the offense with 19 digs in the opening match and 24 in the nightcap, the former a team high.
The Hogs finished the day with 19.5 blocks over the two matches, and Arkansas’ 14.5 in the WKU match were a season high and the most for the team since Nov. 20, 2022.
Western Kentucky
The first set was extremely tight between the Hogs and Hilltoppers as neither team let the other score more than a pair of points at a time until over halfway through. There were 16 ties and seven lead changes throughout, but Arkansas began to pull away with a three-point run which featured a block and kills from Head and Jill Gillen, which put the Hogs up 20-18 and sent the home team to a timeout. Arkansas didn’t let up from there, and while the Toppers tacked on three more, a Gillen kill pushed it to set point. WKU added another, but a kill from Head made it 25-22 in favor of the Razorbacks.
The momentum quickly shifted WKU’s way in the second set, as the home team jumped out to an 11-5 lead. Arkansas called time, but couldn’t generate many opportunities. Shortly after, the Hilltoppers settled in for a 7-2 run and made it a 21-13 advantage. The Hogs took another timeout and chipped away with three straight points late and spoiled set point, but WKU came through with a 25-17 victory and knotted up the match.
The third set saw six early ties, but Arkansas managed a four-point run highlighted by two blocks, including one solo, from junior Zoi Evans, which made it 12-9 Hogs. Western Kentucky called time and while the Razorbacks added to their advantage initially, the Toppers came firing back with six unanswered points and took the lead. The Hogs tied it again, but WKU staved them off with a five-point run, two away from set point. Gillen fought it off once, but the Hilltoppers ended it 25-20 for a 2-1 match lead.
With the match on the line, the Razorbacks turned on the jets in the fourth set and led by as many as four points to start. The Toppers were never far behind though, and down 12-10, they rattled off five points to turn the tide and took the lead. Arkansas kept chipping, but didn’t begin to threaten until a trio of points gave the Razorbacks the lead back at 20-19. WKU called time, but Arkansas kept pushing until set point. The Toppers spoiled it two times, but Gillen came through with the kill and forced a fifth set.
The Hogs were on a mission in the deciding set and came out swinging for a 3-0 lead. The Toppers chased, but Arkansas answered every time. The Razorbacks held an 8-5 advantage as the teams switched sides, and the Hogs extended it to four shortly after. Two straight Topper points put them within one, and Arkansas regrouped with a timeout. The Hogs got their two point lead back, and a WKU error took it to match point. Gillen then added her final kill of the evening for the 15-12 set and match victory.
College of Charleston
The Hogs and Cougars played close to start the match, but Arkansas quickly settled in. The Razorbacks used a 6-1 run and grabbed a 13-8 lead in the first set that they never looked back from. The advantage was as big as seven points throughout the opening set, and a 4-2 point streak finished it at 25-17 for the Hogs.
Any rust the team had going into the match was fully shaken off by the second set, as there was just one tie score and no lead changes after that. The Razorbacks started on an 8-2 run in the second, which prompted the Cougars to call time. They made a bit of a push not long after and came within five, but the Hogs kept pushing and a kill by Sania Petties made the deficit double digits again at 19-9. The Cougars managed to get to 13 still down 10, but kills by Cartwright and Gillen put the second away 25-13.
Arkansas made quick work of the third set as the Hogs only allowed six points to their 17 midway through. The Razorbacks led by 13 and got to 20 points off a kill from Zoi Evans, and back-to-back from Head put the set and match within three. The Cougars found a bit of a rhythm and strung together three straight points to get to 12, but Arkansas refused to let up and a kill and an ace by Hogue made it 25-12 Hogs for the match win.
Up Next
The Hogs close out the University Plaza Invitational with a match against Troy on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. in Bowling Green.
More Information
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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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