Outside hitter Hollann Hans led Texas A&M with 11 kills as the Aggies swept Arkansas at Barnhill Arena on Friday, 25-19, 25-16 and 25-18.
The four-year veteran also recorded a .625 kill percentage against the young Razorback squad, after recording a .078 kill percentage in her first three seasons against Arkansas. Her 11 kills on Friday was her ninth-straight match in double figures.
Despite leading through most of the first set, Arkansas continued to struggle against SEC opponents, committing 30 errors throughout the match. The Razorbacks have lost three straight in conference play.
Down 5-0 early, A&M trailed the Razorbacks until a 9-1 run at the end of the first set sealed the win for the Aggies.
“That was a great team win on the road,” A&M coach Laura “Bird” Kuhn told 12thman.com. “The execution and focus was great, and that’s what we needed. It lacked in the first set, but to see our team come back and execute at a high level and finish that first set was huge.”
After having to come back to win in the first set, A&M cruised through the second set, with setter Camille Conner leading a 7-1 streak with two kills and a block to make it 11-4.
“Our offensive balance was there and I commend Camille [Conner] because we talked about that after our match at Tennessee,” Kuhn said. “We need the balance, and we talked to her before tonight’s match. She was in the zone and ran that offense. Our defense started sharpening up in the first set and honed in on our execution.”
The Razorbacks showed their lack of experience through the last two sets, with a pair of freshmen and sophomores getting the start in the team’s first match back in Fayetteville since Sept. 10.
Freshman opposite Treyaunna Rush stood out in Fayetteville with a career-best nine kills. Middle blocker Mallory Talbert added seven.
Middle blocker Makena Patterson also made a significant impact near the net, with seven kills and six blocks. The junior made high percentage kills while stuffing Arkansas’ blockers above the net.
“That balance works well when you have a right side terminating like Treyaunnna did tonight, getting her career-high nine kills,” Kuhn said. “That’s huge for her and I love that Camille kept going to her and Makena. At the end of set one, she set them both up to score and it finished the set, which is huge for our offense and for their confidence. It needs to be a system and everyone needs to trust it.”
Arkansas hung around with the Aggies in the final set until a pair of service errors by outside hitter Maggie Wheeler and middle blocker Devyn Wheeler allowed A&M to take a seven-point lead.
With the win, A&M picked up its 10th victory of the season, and a 2-1 mark in SEC play.
Senior libero Camila Gomez led the Aggies with eight digs, with libero Taylor Voss recording five.
The Aggies will continue their road trip with a match at No. 22 Missouri on Sunday. The game is set for 1 p.m. and will be televised on SEC Network +.