Volley Hogs Kick Off 2025 Slate in Kansas

The Arkansas volleyball team gets the 2025 season going this weekend as the Hogs are set to compete in the Shocker Volleyball Classic Aug. 30-31 in Wichita, Kan.

The Razorbacks will take on the Kennesaw State Owls for their season opener on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT. Arkansas will wrap up the weekend with a Sunday afternoon showdown with the Wichita State Shockers on Sunday at 1 p.m.

In addition to the first meeting of the season for Arkansas, Saturday’s match-up with Kennesaw State is the first-ever between the two teams. The Owls went 14-17 last season and return the most players for 2025 of any CUSA team, in which they’ve been picked to finish fourth.

The Hogs and Shockers met last fall, and an Arkansas sweep gave the Razorbacks a 3-2 lead in the all-time series with Wichita State. The Shockers ended the 2024 season with an 18-14 record and a berth to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2017 after capturing the American Conference Championship.

Saturday’s season opener will not be streamed, but live stats will be available. Sunday’s finale with Wichita State will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

Coming off the team’s first-ever Elite Eight appearance in 2023, the 2024 season was one of rebuilding for Arkansas. The Hogs were anchored by veteran setter Hannah Hogue and libero Courtney Jackson, who helped guide the team to its fourth straight 15-win season. While Hogue and Jackson won’t take the floor as athletes this season, both bring tangible and recent experience to Arkansas’ bench as assistant coach and graduate assistant.

The Hogs do return a big presence in the middle with Zoi Evans, who has taken her fifth year with the team. Evans led the team in blocks for the second consecutive season in 2024 with 121, and set a new single season high in blocks per set with 1.19, which was also good for fourth in the SEC. She also made huge strides offensively with a .400 hitting percentage on the year: the highest of any Arkansas starter, the fourth-highest single season hitting percentage (at least 200 attempts) in program history, and the highest for any player in a single season since 2015. Evans ultimately tallied 115 total kills, fifth on the team and a new personal best.

Arkansas also gets opposite hitter Romani Thurman back for her junior season and second at Arkansas. As a rookie Razorback, Thurman played every set and made 22 starts. She was second on the team in kills with 315, a new personal single season high, and posted a .245 hitting percentage, the best of any Arkansas hitter. Also a solid backrow presence, Thurman tallied 19 double-digit kill matches and two with 20+. Defensively, she put up 85 blocks, second-most on the team and a new single season best.

 

The Razorbacks also made some solid offseason acquisitions in the transfer portal in libero Gaby Cornier (Florida), outside hitter Lakin Laurendine (Auburn), and setters Livia Niu (USF) and Kiki Remensperger (Boise State).

Remensperger spent her rookie season at Boise State, where she was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Year. She recorded a team-high 575 assists for the Broncos, came in second in digs (316), and finished in the top 10 in kills (104), aces (34), and hitting percentage (.291). Kiki notched a team-high 12 double-doubles, including two triple-doubles, which no other Boise State player had recorded since 2011.

Arkansas has a strong trio of freshmen for 2025 as well with outside hitter Parker Duncan, opposite Sydney Maue and middle blocker Journey Peppers. All three made big contributions to their club and high school teams and could see significant minutes in their rookie seasons.

Numbers to Know

Kennesaw State (2024 Final)

• Hitting Pct.: .195
• Kills/Set: 12.30
• Assists/Set: 11.40
• Digs/Set: 13.10
• Blocks/Set: 1.90
• Aces/Set: 1.50
• Opp. Hitting Pct.: .237

Wichita State (2024 Final)

• Hitting Pct. : 220
• Kills/Set: 12.70
• Assists/Set : 11.70
• Digs/Set: 14.60
• Blocks/Set: 2.20
• Aces/Set: 1.20
• Opp. Hitting Pct.    .218

Arkansas (2024 Final)

• Hitting Pct.: .219
• Kills/Set: 13.92
• Assists/Set: 12.06
• Digs/Set: 16.54
• Blocks/Set: 2.01
• Aces/Set: 1.15
• Opp. Hitting Pct.: .206

More Information

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