ARLINGTON, Texas – Little Rock volleyball (7-8, 3-2 Sun Belt) took a tough four-set loss (19-25, 23-25, 25-12, 24-26) to UT Arlington (13-5, 4-2) on Saturday at the College Park Center in Arlington.
Little Rock and UT Arlington were neck and neck to begin the match as both squads remained knotted up until 14-14. The Mavericks then went on to score five straight points and take a 19-14 lead. The Trojans got within four at 21-17 with a kill from
Miona Milovanovic, but they would get no closer as the Mavericks took the set 25-19.
The Trojans started the second set with three straight points before the Mavericks responded with a kill. Little Rock kept the hot start going with four consecutive points to build a 7-1 lead before UT Arlington called a timeout. The Trojans continued the run with two aces by
Sydnee Martin and a UTA blocking error to take a 10-1 lead. After a block by
Carolee Dillard, the Mavericks took their final timeout of the set as they trailed the Trojans 13-4. Little Rock took a 10-point lead at 20-10 after a UT Arlington attack error. The Mavericks wouldn't go down easy as they scored eight straight points before Dillard put down a kill to end the run at 21-18. UTA then came back to tie the set at 23-23 before taking the set 25-23 on an ace and a block.
Little Rock jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the third frame before forcing a UT Arlington timeout. The Trojans continued the hot start out of the break as they took a 16-9 lead before the Mavericks called their final timeout of the set. After blowing a 10-point lead in the second set, Little Rock kept UTA in check by only allowing it to get within six points at 16-10. At 20-12, the Trojans finished off the set with five straight points to take a dominate 25-12 win and cut the Mavs' match lead to 2-1. Little Rock hit .318 for the set compared to UT Arlington's -.029 while also outblocking 5-0.
UT Arlington began the set with a 10-5 lead, forcing a Little Rock timeout. The timeout had quite an effect as the Trojans went on to tie the set at 12-12 on a Mavericks' attack error. UTA fought back with three straight points on two kills and an ace before a service error ended the run at 15-13. Little Rock battled back and tied the match once again at 17-17 after a long attack by UT Arlington. Down 23-20 and feeling pressured, the Mavericks used their final timeout of the set. From there, it was all in UTA's favor as it went on a 6-1 run to take the set and match with a 26-24 win.
Dillard finished the match with 10 kills and seven blocks (one solo and six assisted), and
Edina Selimovic came in with nine kills, a team-high .250 hitting percentage and five block assists.
Miona Milovanovic added seven kills, four digs and a block.
Marina Avram and
Veronica Marin each tallied five kills. Avram added six digs and five block assists while Marin recorded two block assists.
Priscila Almeida led Little Rock with 21 digs while
Kelsey Leech and
Sydnee Martin came in with eight and five, respectively. Leech recorded an ace and her fourth-career kill, her second of the season. Martin added two aces to her match totals.
As a team, Little Rock outblocked UT Arlington 12-11.
After winning against UTA last week, the Trojans and Mavericks split the season series 1-1.
The Trojans return home to face rival Arkansas State at the Jack Stephens Center on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
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