Trojans to Clash With Rival Red Wolves on Wednesday

Match Notes (PDF)

Match 16: Arkansas State at Little Rock
Wednesday, Oct. 7 • 6:30 p.m.
Little Rock, Ark. • Jack Stephens Center 
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LITTLE ROCK – Little Rock volleyball (7-8, 3-2 Sun Belt) will look to get back on track as it faces rival Arkansas State (15-1, 6-0) on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m., inside the Jack Stephens Center.
 
PACK THE JACK
Little Rock volleyball will look to Pack The Jack against the rival Red Wolves. Faculty and staff of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock will receive free admission. Students will earn double rewards by checking in via the Maroon Mob app. 

Additionally, fun and games sponsored by the Junior Trojans Club will be stationed in the concourse area. The Little Rock pep band will be in attendance and the Trojans Team Store will be open with all the latest merchandise.
 
FIRST SERVE

• Little Rock will go for its third consecutive win over Arkansas State.
• The Trojans haven't lost at home to the Red Wolves since 2012.
• Little Rock has won 12 straight home matches dating back to last year, ranking ## in Division I.
• Edina Selimovic leads the Sun Belt with a .368 hitting percentage.
• Carolee Dillard leads the Sun Belt with 1.26 blocks per set overall and 1.63 per set in conference play.
• Dillard now has the second-most blocks for Little Rock in the rally-scoring era.
• Priscila Almeida ranks 29th in the nation with 5.00 digs per set.
• The Trojans lead the conference and rank 44th in Division I with 2.50 blocks per set.

 
SCOUTING ARKANSAS STATE (15-1, 6-0 SUN BELT)
The Red Wolves come into Wednesday night's match fresh off a pair of sweeps of Louisiana and ULM on the road. Arkansas State's only loss this season came at the hands of Missouri in five sets. The closest A-State has come to a conference loss was a five-set win at Troy, a team Little Rock finished off in three sets.
 
Arkansas State has three offensive threats in Drew Jones, Carlisa May and Darby Graff. Jones has the most kills per set at 3.38, but offers the lowest hitting percentage of the three at .186. May has the second-most kills per set at 3.50 and hits .332. Graff has .307 kills per set and leads the team with a .353 hitting percentage. Tallying nearly all the assist is Mallory Warrington at 11.34 per set.
 
The Red Wolves are third in blocking behind Little Rock at 2.43 per set. Kelsey Reis does the majority of blocking for the Red Wolves at 1.18 per set. Arkansas State does however lead the Sun Belt with 15.86 digs per set. Markie Schaedig leads the team with 5.29 digs per set.
 
SERIES AGAINST ARKANSAS STATE
Little Rock will try for its third consecutive win over Arkansas State on Wednesday night. The Trojans haven't lost at home to the Red Wolves since 2012. The Trojans have also won four of the last five meetings with the Red Wolves. Arkansas State leads the overall series 33-19 since Little Rock made the jump to Division I in 1991. In Little Rock, the Red Wolves hold a slim 12-10 lead over the Trojans.
 
Both of Little Rock's wins over Arkansas State last season came in 3-0 sweeps.
 
HOME WINNING STREAK
Little Rock's win last Sunday at home against UT Arlington was the Trojans' 12th consecutive victory at the Jack Stephens Center. This streak ties for the ninth-best in Division I. The Trojans started the streak last season with a 3-0 sweep of ULM in the first Sun Belt Conference match of the year.
 
SUN BELT LEADERS
Edina Selimovic remains the most efficient hitter in the Sun Belt this year with a .368 hitting percentage. In conference play, Selimovic has the fifth-highest hitting percentage at .374. Selimovic also has the seventh-most overall blocks per set in the conference at 1.06.
 
Middle blocker Carolee Dillard continues to show her great blocking abilities as she remains the top overall and conference-only blocker. Dillard is averaging 1.26 blocks per set for the season and 1.63 blocks per set in conference play.
 
Combined, Dillard and Selimovic are the best overall blocking duo in the Sun Belt at 2.31 blocks per set. Little Rock is the only team in the conference with two players ranking in the top seven for blocks per set. Dillard and Selimovic were the sixth-best blocking duo in the nation last season as they accounted for 323 of Little Rock's 372 total blocks.
 
As a team, Little Rock is on top of the Sun Belt at 2.50 blocks per set.
 
DIGGIN' ALMEIDA
Senior libero Priscila Almeida continues to be a bright spot for Little Rock's defense. Through 54 sets, she has the third-most overall blocks per set in the conference at 5.00. Almeida is tied with Arkansas State's Markie Schaedig for third-most digs per set in conference play at 5.00 digs per set.
 
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Priscila Almeida boasts the 29th-most digs per set in the nation at 5.00 per set and has the 90th-most total digs at 270.
 
Carolee Dillard has the 50th-most blocks per set at 1.26 per set in the country and has the 86th-most total blocks with 68.
 
Edina Selimovic's league-leading .368 hitting percentage ranks 70th in Division I.
 
Little Rock's conference-leading 2.50 blocks per set rank 44th in nation.
 
A WIN AGAINST ARKANSAS STATE WOULD…
...be the Red Wolves' first conference loss of the year and would be the Trojans' fifth win in their last six matches with Arkansas State. A win against the Red Wolves would also be the Trojans' 13th consecutive at the Jack Stephens Center.
 
A win on Wednesday night would be head coach Van Compton's 220th Sun Belt win. In her last match against Arkansas State, Compton became the Sun Belt's all-time winningest coach as she notched win No. 216 in conference play.
 
If Little Rock can get past Arkansas State, it would be the 60th win in the Jack Stephens Center since the building opened in 2005. Little Rock is 59-31 overall and 56-29 in Sun Belt play when playing in the Jack Stephens Center.
 
FIRST SET ADVANTAGE
Little Rock is 7-1 this season when winning the first set of the match.
 
SECOND SET SUCCESS
Statistically, the Trojans have played their best in the second set of matches this season. Little Rock is currently 10-5 in the second frame for the year.
 
ACE YOUR FACE
When recording more aces than its opponents, Little Rock is a perfect 6-0 this season.
 
CAREER NUMBERS WATCH

• Edina Selimovic needs 19 kills to earn 400 for her career.
• Carolee Dillard now has the second-most total blocks in the rally-scoring era with 377. This ranks as the fourth-most in program history.
• Kelsey Leech eclipsed the 500-mark for digs this past weekend.
• Freshman Veronica Marin is two kills away from her 50th.
• Junior setter Megan Mathis is only four digs away from hitting 300 for her career.

 
NEXT UP
Little Rock goes back on the road this weekend as the Trojans head to Boone, N.C., for a match with the 5-0 Appalachian State Mountaineers on Friday night before turning their attention to Georgia State in Atlanta, Ga., on Sunday.