Box Score NORMAN, Okla. – After coming off an impressive weekend in Fort Worth, Texas, UALR had a rough start to the Oklahoma Nike Invitational against Oklahoma, dropping the match, 3-1 (19-25, 25-13, 16-25, 16-25) on Thursday night.
Notable performances by the Trojans included Sonja Milanovic with 10 kills and seven digs, Edina Begic with 10 kills and five digs and Megan Mathis racking up 25 assists. On defense, Carolee Dillard put on another strong performance, tormenting the Sooners offense with seven total blocks while Adisa Hodzic helped out by adding five of her own.
The Trojans and Sooners started off the night with a competitive first set. UALR's first seven points came off Oklahoma errors. The set was back and forth until Oklahoma finally broke the 12-12 tie by going on a 13-7 run to win the set.
After a tough first set loss, UALR rallied in the second set. Tied at 12, the Trojans went on a roll, scoring six unanswered points until Oklahoma came back with one of its own. The Trojans then continued by scoring another seven unanswered points to win the set. UALR ended the set on a 13-1 run. Oklahoma helped UALR's cause by committing seven attack errors during the run.
After gaining the momentum with the second set win, UALR had a rough go of it in the third set. After tying the set up at six, Oklahoma went on a 10-1 run. UALR hung around to score a few points toward the latter part of the set, but the effort wasn't enough, giving Oklahoma the third set win.
With hope still alive going into the fourth set, the Sooners rattled off six straight points to begin the set before UALR snuck in three of its own. Oklahoma led the final set from the wire, besting UALR to win the fourth frame and the match.
UALR returns to action Friday morning at 10 a.m. against Cal State Northridge, who was bested by Oklahoma in five sets on Wednesday. The Trojans follow up the match by taking on Lamar at 5 p.m.
