Trojans Drop Sun Belt Opener at Coastal Carolina

CONWAY, S.C. – Little Rock volleyball (4-10, 0-1 Sun Belt) opened up Sun Belt Conference action with a three-set loss (16-25, 19-25, 16-25) at Coastal Carolina (10-3, 1-0) on Friday night at the HTC Center in Conway.
 
Marina Avram led the Trojans with seven kills while Miona Milovanovic tallied six kills and a team-high .235 hitting percentage against her former school. Carolee Dillard led the match with five total blocks (one solo and four assisted).
 
The Trojans lost the opening set with the Chanticleers by nine points as Coastal Carolina led every statistical category besides blocks. Little Rock outblocked Coastal 4-2 as Dillard tallied three (one solo and two assisted) during the frame. The Trojans trailed by as much as 11 points, but an 8-3 run allowed Little Rock to get within six at 22-16. The Chants then finished off the set with three consecutive kills.
 
The second set was neck and neck as both squads remained knotted up at 14. The Chanticleers then went on a 6-2 run to take a 20-16 lead. The Trojans responded with a kill and ace before the Chants ended the set on a 5-1 run. Milovanovic tallied a team-high four kills while Marin put up a set-high two block assists.
 
The final set was all Coastal Carolina as the Chanticleers began the set with a 9-0 lead. A 5-2 run by Little Rock narrowed the gap to 11-5 and drew a Coastal timeout. After the timeout, the Chants went on a run of their own to take an 11-point lead at 18-7 before Little Rock called its final timeout. The Trojans brought down the Chanticleers' lead to seven at 22-15, but Coastal finished off the set with a 3-1 run.
 
Edina Selimovic put up five kills while Veronica Marin earned four kills and four total blocks (two solo and two assisted). Hope Larmour led Little Rock with six digs, and Taylor Lindberg earned 23 assists with two kills, four digs and a block.
 
Little Rock once again won the block battle as the Trojans put up nine compared to the Chanticleers' five.
 
The Trojans will continue Sun Belt Conference action on Sunday at Appalachian State (2-12, 0-1) at 11:30 p.m., in Boone, N.C.