Seeking its first win since October 13, Auburn volleyball (14-8, 4-7) came up short on Sunday as they fell to Arkansas (15-7, 5-5) in an enormous five-set comeback by the Razorbacks. After starting the season 14-2 and 4-1 in conference play, the Tigers have now lost six consecutive games and sit at 14th place in the SEC.
Auburn took the first set, 25-23, courtesy of an impressive showing from fifth-year senior Bella Bell. Bell led a team-wide block party inside of Barnhill Arena, recording three individual blocks and holding Arkansas to just .200 hitting in the opening frame. Chelsey McCurdy and Jasmine Okeoma also joined the effort, contributing to 15 total team blocks in the contest – the third-most in any match this season.
Bell also dominated offensively throughout the second stanza, as she had tallied 11 kills with a .647 hitting percentage by the end of set two. She was accompanied by outside hitter Bel Zimmerman, who racked up six kills of her own. The Tigers and Razorbacks traded blows for most of the set; there were four lead changes and 11 ties in the frame, but Auburn eventually pulled away due to strong back row play from Alexis Dacosta, Zoe Slaughter, and Fallan Landham, setting up kill after kill from the Tigers’ offensive attack. The set ended 25-19 in favor of the Tigers.
However, the outstanding performance from Bell proved to be not enough in the end. Despite her 18 total kills and season-high nine blocks, Auburn couldn’t find a way to hold on in the final three sets, resulting in a reverse sweep for the Razorbacks.
Auburn jumped out to a 13-3 lead in the third set but couldn’t retain it. A combination of elite serving and impressive hitting from Aniya Madkin brought the Razorbacks all the way back to force a fourth set, winning by a score of 25-23.
Arkansas only trailed one time in the fourth and fifth sets – the single exception being when Auburn scored first in the fifth to make it 1-0. The Razorbacks held firm control of the rest of the game, claiming victory after an exceptional final two frames (25-20 and 15-11).
With the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship bracket set to be released in less than a month, Auburn faces a crucial five-game stretch to conclude the regular season. The Tigers will aim to snap their six-game losing streak at Florida on Friday, Nov. 8. The match will begin at 6 p.m. CST and will be televised on SECN+.
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Gunner is a freshman majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in the fall 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @norene_gunner10
