Box Score TOPEKA, Kan. – The UALR volleyball team earned its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory on Friday night, knocking off national No. 16 seed Kansas 3-2 (27-25, 19-25, 22-25, 25-18, 15-10) in the Kansas Expocentre.
UALR (30-4) was led by senior Edina Begic, who finished the match with 27 kills for the Trojans. The win extended UALR's nation-longest winning streak to 25 matches.
The match got off to great note as UALR's first-set win was the very first NCAA Tournament set win in program history. UALR had its largest lead of the set at 22-18, but Kansas reeled in the Trojans to the frame at 22. The Trojans would earn set point three times before finally putting the frame away in extra points. Begic highlighted the set with four kills, five block assists, eight digs and hit .308 on 13 attempts. UALR had 8.5 total blocks in the first set alone.
UALR first-set momentum would not carry over to the second as the Trojans struggled the entire set. At one point, UALR trailed Kansas by nine at 10-19. The Trojans would battle back to get within four at 17-21, but it wouldn't be enough as the Jayhawks won the set by six. UALR hit a flat .000 for the set with seven kills and seven errors. The block numbers also took a nose dive as the Trojans only managed to get 2 total blocks during the frame.
Although the third set was a loss as well, UALR played a much better set than the second. Both squads remained within three points of each other for the duration of the set. Begic led the set with six kills while junior Sonja Milanovic tallied five of her own. Milanovic led the Trojans with a .364 attack percentage on 11 attempts.
With its back against a wall, UALR came out swinging in the fourth set, hitting .400 on 40 attempts. The match remained tied until 8-8 and after, it was all UALR. The Trojans took the set with a seven point lead, its largest of the night. Begic racked up nine kills on 17 attempts, hitting .529 in the process. Milanovic added six more kills on 14 attempts. Sophomore setter Megan Mathis had her best set of the night with 13 assists and three kills.
After UALR earned the win in the fourth frame, the match would end in the decisive fifth set. This was only UALR's second five-set match of the season. The momentum of the fourth carried over to the fifth as UALR once again hit .400 for the set while Kansas hit a poor -.111. The Trojans made no attack errors in the final frame while the Jayhawks made eight. The blocks also came back for UALR as the Trojans had a total of six for the set. Down 5-3 in the fifth set, UALR scored the next three points to take a 6-5 lead. The Jayhawks tied the set with the next point, but the Trojans went on another three-point run and never trailed again. All of these factors combined to give UALR its first NCAA tournament win in program history.
Begic's 27 kills tied her second-most in a match this season. Begic set season-highs for digs and blocks in a match with 19 and six, respectively. This was her 13th double-double of the season.
Milanovic finished the match with 15 kills and 16 digs, getting her 18th double-double this year.
Sophomore Edina Selimovic tallied a game-high of nine total blocks, tying her third-most in a match this season.
Mathis contributed with 42 assists, 11 digs, five total blocks, and four kills, earning her fifth double-double of the season. Her five total blocks tied her second-most this season.
Sophomore Carolee Dillard tied her second-most blocks this season with seven (one solo and six assisted).
Senior Adisa Hodzic racked up four kills and three block assists while senior Capri Rino tied Begic's 19 digs.
As a team, UALR recorded its most blocks in a match this season with 18.5, beating out the 15 it had against Troy. The Trojans' 18.5 blocks are tied for the seventh-most in a UALR rally-scoring match while they are the second-most in a five-set match in the rally-scoring era.
UALR also had its most attack attempts this season with 166 and most digs with 77.
UALR will face Oregon State for the first time in Topeka on Saturday (Nov. 6) at 6:30 p.m. for a chance to go to the Sweet 16.
