Razorbacks volleyball drops five-set road match to Mississippi State

Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Down two sets for the second match in a row, Razorbacks volleyball found a way to dig out again Sunday.

Mississippi State made sure the escape didn’t stick.

The Bulldogs took the deciding set 15-7 and beat Arkansas 25-16, 25-14, 22-25, 14-25, 15-7.

Lineup moves sparked the Hogs’ turnaround. A few players who hadn’t seen the court much lately made a real dent.

Freshman Paisley Pavliska led the charge. She entered in the third set and piled up a career-high 14 kills.

Arkansas dropped to 10-10 on the season and 2-7 against SEC teams.

Bulldogs controlled the early sets

The Hogs won the first rally of the match. Mississippi State won the next five.

At 6-1, Arkansas needed a spark. Parker Duncan’s ace trimmed the gap to two.

State didn’t give up much after that. Arkansas never scored more than two in a row as the deficit grew to 10.

A Razorbacks timeout didn’t change anything. The Bulldogs took the opener 25-16.

Set two followed a similar script. State jumped ahead 7-3 and kept at least a two-point cushion through its first 10 points.

Its quick defense stretched the lead to 15-10 at the technical break. At 18-10, Arkansas used a timeout.

The Hogs added just four more points. State won 25-14 and went up 2-0.

Fresh faces turned the third

Sophomore middle blocker Journey Peppers had checked in during the second set. It was her first time playing since Sept. 12.

In the third, she and Pavliska each put down kills as Arkansas grabbed a 5-3 lead. That two-point edge was the Razorbacks’ largest of the day so far.

State pulled back in front 8-6. Arkansas answered with four straight points for a 12-9 lead, and the Bulldogs called time.

The Hogs were up 15-11 at the technical timeout. A 4-1 Bulldog run cut it to one, and Arkansas took a timeout of its own.

The Razorbacks reached 20 first. A joint block by Peppers and junior setter Kiki Remensperger made it 23-21.

State called time again. Pavliska came out of it with a kill that wrapped up a 25-22 win.

Laurendine took charge in the fourth

Neither side could pull away early in set four. Two Arkansas errors put State ahead 8-7.

The Hogs bounced back quickly. Senior Lakin Laurendine’s kill made them the first team to 10.

She added a solo block and another kill for a 12-9 lead. Mississippi State burned a timeout.

Freshman libero Madi Benne followed with an ace. A Bulldog net fault handed Arkansas another point.

The Razorbacks kept piling on and moved ahead 17-10.

Arkansas closed it out 25-14 to even the match 2-2.

One more set was one too many

A Bulldog service error put Arkansas on the board first in the fifth.

After that, State grabbed the momentum. The Razorbacks couldn’t score more than one point at a time.

The Bulldogs hit 10 first at 10-6.

They also took advantage of Arkansas mistakes. The final was 15-7.

Remensperger was playing for the first time in three weeks. She finished with 41 assists and 16 digs for her eighth double-double of the year.

Laurendine had 14 kills and hit .364, the top percentage among Arkansas starters.

Stat leaders and what’s next

Pavliska had appeared in only three matches this season before Sunday. Her nine digs were also a career high, and one more would’ve given her a double-double.

Peppers led the team with three blocks. She also had five kills and hit .364 with one attack error.

Senior Gaby Cornier posted a season-best 20 digs. Benne finished with 16.

Arkansas returns home to host Oklahoma on Friday, Oct. 30. The match starts at 6 p.m. CT and airs on SEC Network.

The night doubles as the Razorbacks’ Halloween Bash. There’s pre-match trick-or-treating with the Razorback mascots, and there’ll be a costume contest.