Box Score LITTLE ROCK – UALR tormented the Louisiana offense at the net with 14 total team blocks to sweep the Ragin' Cajuns 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-17) on Friday night at the Jack Stephens Center.
The UALR block party was led by junior Edina Selimovic with a career-high 9 block assists, while senior Adisa Hodzic nearly met her total with one solo and seven assisted blocks. UALR's season block leader, Carolee Dillard, also added four of her own with a solo and three assisted, giving her 59 blocks on the year.
UALR's 14 team blocks is tied for the second-most blocks in a three-set match during the rally-scoring era. All that added up to the Ragin' Cajuns hitting just .040 on the night and -.088 in the second set when the Trojans had seven total team blocks.
Junior Sonja Milanovic was UALR's best all-around player, recording her 12th career double-double with 10 kills and 13 digs.
Senior Edina Begic continued her dominant performance by racking up a team-high 19 kills.
Setting up Begic and Milanovic for those kills was sophomore setter Megan Mathis who ended the night with 35 assists. Mathis now has 30 assists in at least six matches this season.
The Trojans started the first set on a 5-1 run before the Ragin' Cajuns would come back to tie the set at 8-8. UALR would then score three straight points before being answered right back with three of Louisiana's own. The Cajuns' comeback would be part of a 6-1 run that would eventually give them a 14-12 lead. But UALR wasn't done as it would then go on 5-1 run of its own to take the lead at 17-15. After a Louisiana timeout, UALR took the first set by going on an 8-4 run and got the deciding point on a Begic kill.
UALR carried its momentum going into the second set and never looked back. Five of the Trojans' first seven points came off Cajun attack errors with nine errors by the visitors during the entire set. Toward the end of the frame, the Trojans led by as many as 12 points before sealing the set on a Milanovic slam to the floor.
Just like the second, the Trojans led the final set from the wire. Attack errors would again plague the Louisiana offense as it committed nine of its match-total 24 in the final set. UALR's final two points of the match came on a setting error and an attack error by the Cajuns, and Begic had kills on three of the Trojans' final six points of the set.
The Trojans return to action on Friday (Sept. 26) in Atlanta as they play host Georgia State before heading north to Boone, N.C., to take on new Sun Belt opponent Appalachian State on Sunday (Sept. 28).
