LITTLE ROCK – Little Rock volleyball (10-11, 6-5 Sun Belt) made a weekend sweep, blanking ULM 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-19) at the Jack Stephens Center
on Sunday afternoon, two days after sweeping Louisiana.
Miona Milovanovic tied a collegiate career-high with 13 kills while Little Rock held ULM (12-14, 2-9) to a paltry .099 hitting percentage throughout the match. This is the second consecutive match in which Milovanovic has led the team in kills.
Taylor Lindberg led the way for the Trojans with 34 assists while
Marina Avram and
Priscila Almeida tied for the most digs with 14 apiece.
The victory extends the Trojans' winning streak over the Warhawks to 25 matches.
The Trojans fell behind early in the first set, taking a timeout to stop the bleeding at 10-5. The timeout worked perfectly, as the team went on an 11-1 run over the next few points, taking a 16-12 lead and making ULM use both its timeouts in the set. Almeida had consecutive aces during that run as the Trojans took over the set. The Warhawks got within two points a bit later, but the Trojans would wind up taking the frame by five points.
Little Rock would claim the second set by an identical 25-20 score, but that set was much closer. Action was tied at 13-13 before the Trojans finally gained some breathing room, earning a 16-13 lead and forcing a Warhawks timeout. Little Rock took the next two points after the timeout to extend the lead to 18-13, but then ULM bounced right back with three points of its own. Leading 18-16, the Trojans took their timeout. It worked to perfection, as the team got four straight points behind a
Taylor Lindberg service run.
Carolee Dillard ended the set with a kill for the second consecutive set.
The Trojans jumped out early in the final set, taking a 16-9 lead as ULM struggled to keep up. The Warhawks got within two points at 20-18, but Little Rock got five of the final six points to claim its largest margin of victory in a set all match. The Trojans hit a match-high .310 in the final set compared to ULM's .128.
Before transferring to Little Rock, Milovanovic last had 13 kills as a member of Coastal Carolina against Youngstown State in 2013.
Marina Avram nearly earned her fourth double-double of the season with 14 digs and nine kills while hitting .391 on 23 swings.
Edina Selimovic and
Carolee Dillard each ended the match with eight kills. Selimovic had a match-high three aces and Dillard led the match with three blocks (one solo and two assisted). Dillard hit .500 for the match on 14 attempts.
Along with her 14 digs, Almeida earned two aces.
Sydnee Martin came up with 10 digs and two aces while
Kelsey Leech earned eight digs and a rare kill.
Veronica Marin finished the match with two blocks (one solo and one assisted) and one kill.
Little Rock's 65 digs were the fourth-most in a three-set match in the rally-scoring era.
The Trojans have their big rivalry game up next, traveling to Arkansas State
on Wednesday for a
6 p.m., first serve with the Red Wolves.
