Box Score SAN MARCOS, Texas – The UALR volleyball team won its first Sun Belt Conference Tournament Championship since 2000 with a sweep of Texas State (25-18, 25-20, 25-12) on Saturday.
Saturday's win means that UALR earns a spot in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2000. The Trojans' game date, opponent and location will be announced by the NCAA on Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
The victory marks UALR's fifth Sun Belt Conference Championship in program history.
Senior Edina Begic was named the Sun Belt Conference Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, while junior Sonja Milanovic and sophomore Megan Mathis were named to the Sun Belt Conference All-Tournament team.
Against Texas State, Begic tied her three-set high for the season with 21 kills and hit .415 on 41 attempts.
The Trojans' best set of the afternoon came in the third and final set, winning with a 13-point margin. Tied 2-2, UALR rallied by scoring five straight points to increase its lead to 7-2. The set was never in doubt as UALR jumped out to its largest lead of the match at 24-10. Texas State squeezed out two more points, but a final kill by Milanovic sealed the match and championship.
The closest set of the match came in the second as UALR escaped with a five-point lead. The Trojans started the set with a 4-1 lead, but Texas State rallied to tie the set. The two squads battled for quite a while until both tied the set at 12. UALR then started to pull away from Texas State to take the largest lead of the set at 21-16. The Trojans lead was never fewer than four points for the rest of the set.
UALR started the match with a 4-1 deficit, but this was quickly resolved as the Trojans rallied to score three straight points to tie the set at 4-4. UALR took its first lead of the match at 7-6, and the set was in Trojan hands the rest of the way. UALR got out to a seven-point lead at 17-10 and had at least a three-point lead for the rest of the set.
Begic's .415 attack percentage was her sixth-highest of the season.
Mathis' 42 assists were her most in a three-set match this season. She also added four kills.
Milanovic had her most kills in a three-set match this season with 17. Her .394 hitting percentage was her fourth-highest of the season. Milanovic also played great defense, tying her highest block total this season with six.
Senior Adisa Hodzic tied her highest hitting percentage of the season with .750 as she came away with six kills and two total blocks.
Sophomore Carolee Dillard racked up six total blocks (two solo and four assisted), tying her third-most in a match this season.
Senior Capri Rino led the match with 14 digs.
Sophomore Edina Selimovic tallied three block assists and came away with two kills.
Sophomore Kelsey Leech scooped up five digs.
As a team, UALR had its most kills in a three-set match this season with 51 and had its most assists in a three-set match with 47.
UALR finished the match hitting .349 compared to Texas State's .132.
UALR will find out who its first opponent is in the NCAA Tournament during the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday (Nov. 30) at 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
