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Box Score 2 STOCKTON, Calif. – The UALR volleyball team had a grueling start to the 2014 season, playing three full matches in under 24 hours. But the team ended its trip to the Pacific Bankers Classic on the right note, downing Rider University 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-20) at the Alex G. Spanos Center on Saturday night.
Earlier in the day, UALR briefly put a scare into the nation's fifth-ranked team before USC pulled away for a 3-1 (25-15, 13-25, 25-19, 25-13) win over UALR.
Edina Begic had a combined 31 kills on the day, moving to second place all-time at UALR with her 1,646th career kill in the fourth set against USC. She had a match-high 18 kills in that contest before adding 13 against Rider in the nightcap, and she was named to the Bankers Classic All-Tournament team at the end of the night. Junior Sonja Milanovic tied Begic for the team high with 13 kills against the Broncs.
Megan Mathis set a career high for the third consecutive match with 34 assists against Rider, and the Trojans were incredibly efficient on the attack for the entire match. The team ended the night hitting .381 with Begic going for her 13 kills on 21 attacks, Edina Selimovic getting seven kills on 10 attacks and even Mathis tallying a career-best six kills on seven attacks. Begic earned a double-double with 12 digs to go along with her 13 kills, and Mathis had a double-double of her own with 10 digs and her 34 assists. Senior libero Capri Rino had the most digs on the team with 14.
The Trojans' blocking game was also strong on the day as Selimovic tallied 10 total blocks while Carolee Dillard was not far behind with eight.
Against Rider (0-3), UALR (1-2) controlled the first set the entire time. UALR had a .412 hitting percentage in the frame with Begic notching five kills and five digs and Selimovic striking for four kills on just five attacks. UALR was ahead very early, taking a 7-2 lead in the first nine points. The Trojans then stretched their lead to seven points on a four-point service run from Rino. Begic and Selimovic spread their kills across the rest of the set with Dillard, Milanovic and Mathis adding a couple as well. The Trojans claimed the set 25-17 on a Selimovic kill and Mathis' 12th assist of the night.
The second set saw more of the same as the Broncs were in a 6-2 hole early and used a timeout. They came within two points after the timeout at 9-7, but UALR stormed back with five of the next six points to reclaim a 14-8 advantage on a four-point Milanovic service run. Another Rider timeout followed, though it didn't help Rider at all. UALR tallied the next two points on kills from Mathis and Selimovic and eventually coasted into the break with a 25-14 set win. Through two sets, the Trojans were hitting .393 and had 30 kills to Rider's 17.
The third frame was the tightest of the match as UALR started out ahead 7-3 but Rider came back with five consecutive points to take their first lead of the night at 8-7. UALR took a timeout to regroup, and the timeout did the trick for the Trojans as they immediately regained the lead with four straight points. Rider got as close as one the rest of the set but was never again able to tie the match. UALR closed things out as Milanovic got the last three kills for the Trojans and they won the set 25-20.
Against USC, UALR fought very hard and was in danger of upsetting their Trojan counterparts midway through the third set. UALR finished with four times the number of blocks as USC had, with Selimovic having five assisted blocks and Dillard and Begic tallying three each. Milanovic had the second-most kills on the team with seven, and Mathis set a career high for the second consecutive match with 29 assists. Rino led the way with 16 digs while Milanovic had 12 and Mathis added 11.
UALR was not intimidated early on while facing down the nation's No. 5 team. UALR took a 4-0 lead early in the set on two USC attack errors, a service ace by Selimovic and a Begic kill. The UALR lead stayed at four points through a 9-5 advantage, but that was when USC took over. USC scored six of the next eight points, tying the set at 11-11. From there, USC went on a 5-0 run to take a 16-11 lead before Begic broke the rally with a kill. UALR could not build any momentum off that kill, though, and USC claimed the set by 10 points, 25-15. Begic led the way for UALR with four kills in the set while Mathis had six assists and four digs.
UALR had a much better time in the second set as Begic continued to show why she was named the Sun Belt Conference Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Begic had seven kills in the set and added multiple blocks as well on the way to a decisive UALR set win.
The early part of the set was a back-and-forth affair with the teams tied at 7-7 early. From there, though, Begic had a kill and two blocks while Selimovic added another block as UALR took an 11-7 lead and forced a USC timeout. After the timeout USC made it 11-10, but UALR rattled off the next four points to put their lead at 16-11. The lead only grew after that with USC making multiple attacking and service errors and UALR getting kills from Begic, Selimovic and Milanovic on their way to a 25-13 win.
USC had a sizeable advantage early in the third set, taking a 5-1 lead and forcing a UALR timeout. That lead grew to five points at 10-5, but from there UALR got back into the set. Two Milanovic kills brought UALR back within two points at 10-8, and UALR got as close as one point at 16-15 and 17-16. But USC pulled away from there, going on a 6-2 run to take a 22-17 lead and eventually claim the set 25-19. During that set, Begic tied Amila Barakovic for second all-time at UALR with 1,625 career kills.
Begic broke that tie with Barakovic on the eighth point of the fourth set, and the teams were tied at 6-6 after 12 points. USC scored the next four points, though, and never led by fewer than three points in the rest of the set. Milanovic, Selimovic, Begic and Dillard each had kills throughout the set, but UALR could not string them together as USC clinched the match with a 25-13 set win.
With their trip to California behind them, the Trojans of UALR will return to the central time zone this week for their next pre-conference tournament. UALR plays in the TCU Nike Invitational in Fort Worth Texas where it will take on four different opponents. The Trojans' first game comes on Friday at 10 a.m. against Miami.
