Box Score LAFAYETTE, La. – UALR extended its winning streak to eight games and is now 7-0 in the Sun Belt after a 3-1 victory against Louisiana on Friday night (25-23, 17-25, 25-12, 25-21).
Senior Edina Begic led the Trojans' offense with 18 kills and 12 digs to earn her 52nd career double-double and seventh of the season. Begic also hit a stellar.395 on 38 attempts.
Junior Sonja Milanovic earned her sixth double-double of the season with 16 kills and 12 digs of her own.
The fourth set started out with UALR trading the lead a few times with Louisiana until tying the frame at 7-7. The Trojans then scored four consecutive points to extend their lead to 11-7. The Ragin' Cajuns fought back and tied the set again at 21-21. UALR then again scored four consecutive points to close out the set and match. UALR hit .259 in the final set compared to Louisiana's .129.
After losing the second set by eight points, UALR dominated the third set with a 13-point win. Louisiana's eight errors outnumbered its seven kills to give the Cajuns a -.033 hitting percentage. UALR took advantage of Louisiana's miscues by hitting .346. Sophomore Edina Selimovic helped out on defense with four block assists.
UALR's only struggle of the night came in the second set as they were simply outhit by a strong Louisiana attack, resulting in a .542-.214 difference in hitting. The Cajuns led the set from the wire as they would get out to a 10-3 lead before the Trojans came back to decrease the deficit to two at 12-10. The close call wouldn't last long as Louisiana scored six-straight points to give them an 18-10 lead. The Trojans would get within seven before Louisiana sealed the set.
The tightest set of the night came in the first frame as both teams led by no more than two points at a time until tying the match at 21. UALR then got help in the form of three Louisiana errors to push the lead to 24-21. A kill by Louisiana and an error by the Trojans gave the Cajuns one last chance to get back in the set, but it was not meant to be as a kill by Milanovic finalized the frame. Both squads went on to hit .333 in the opening set.
Selimovic led the Trojans' defense with seven block assists and also managed to get a season-high of nine kills. She ended the night hitting .375 on 16 attempts.
Sophomore Megan Mathis ended the match with 39 assists, marking her seventh consecutive match with at least 30 and 11th overall. Mathis also contributed four block assists.
Senior Adisa Hodzic had the second most blocks with five assisted as well as adding four kills.
As a team, UALR came ready to block as they outmatched Louisiana 13.5-3.5.
UALR will go for its ninth consecutive victory and look to remain undefeated in the Sun Belt when it returns to the Jack Stephens Center to face Georgia State on Sunday (Oct. 12) at noon.
