STATESBORO, Ga. – Down 2-1 for the match, Little Rock volleyball (11-15, 7-6 Sun Belt) earned a 3-2 (25-17, 24-26, 23-25, 25-23, 19-17) comeback win over Georgia Southern (12-14, 4-6) on Saturday night at Hanner Fieldhouse.
Edina Selimovic earned a double-double with a team-high 17 kills and a match-high 10 blocks.
Veronica Marin and
Miona Milovanovic each tallied 12 kills and five blocks while Milovanovic hit a match-high .435.
Carolee Dillard earned 11 kills and had eight blocks.
Taylor Lindberg earned the double-double as she put together 52 assists and 11 digs.
Kelsey Leech had a team-high 15 digs, and
Hope Larmour scooped up a career-high 14 digs.
Blocks ended up putting the Trojans over the top as they tallied 19 compared to the Eagles' three. Little Rock's 19 blocks were the second-most in a five-set match in the rally-scoring era.
The Trojans trailed 9-6 in the fifth set, but they put together four consecutive points to take a 10-9 lead. The Eagles then went on a 5-2 run to take match point at 14-12. Little Rock tallied three straight points to take match point at 15-14. The two traded final blows until tying for a final time at 17. A block by Dillard and Marin gave Little Rock match point at 18-17, and a final block by Dillard and Lindberg gave Little Rock the match.
Down 2-1 for the match entering the fourth set, Little Rock knotted the match at 2-2 with a 25-23 win. Close throughout the set, Milovanovic finally put the set away with a kill. Selimovic notched six kills with three blocks while Lindberg tallied 10 assists. The Trojans won the set despite being outhit .300-.250.
Down 16-9 in the third set, Little Rock finally brought the deficit down to one at 24-23 with a Selimovic ace. However, the Trojans' comeback fell short as the Eagles put down a final kill to take the frame and a 2-1 lead of the match. The Eagles outhit the Trojans for the first time with a .316-.294 advantage. Milovanovic led Little Rock with five kills while Lindberg added another 13 assists to her total. Leech tied the set high with four digs.
Unlike the first frame, the second set came down to the wire. With Little Rock down 22-20, the Trojans went on a 4-0 run to take set point. The Eagles battled back with four consecutive points of their own to take the set and even the match at 1-1. Selimovic led the Trojans with four kills and had a set-high three blocks. Lindberg had 13 assists while Larmour and Leech scooped up five digs each.
The Trojans got the match started on a solid note as they took an eight-point win with a .394 hitting percentage, 16 kills and four blocks. Selimovic led the set with five kills while putting up two blocks. Lindberg had a set-high 12 assists and led the Trojans with four digs.
Sydnee Martin scooped up eight digs, and
Kassidy Hopkins had one.
Daisha Gillard had one solo block.
Dillard's eight blocks for the night put her at 563 for her career — one shy of tying the program record held by Ivanka Davidova (2004-07).
The Trojans' 36 block assists tied for the second-most in a match in program history. Little Rock now has 469 block assists for the season — third-most in a single season in program history.
With its road schedule done for the regular season, Little Rock will return home for its final three home matches beginning on Friday against Texas State.
