Trojans Take Four-Set Loss at Appalachian State

BOONE, N.C. – Little Rock volleyball (7-10, 3-4 Sun Belt) took a hard-fought four-set loss (25-18, 25-27, 22-25, 19-25) to Appalachian State (13-4, 6-0) at the Holmes Convocation Center on Friday night.

Edina Selimovic led the Trojan offense with 13 kills, a .355 hitting percentage and led the team with five total blocks. Priscila Almeida tied for the seventh-most digs in a match in program history and fifth-most in the rally-scoring era with 34. Marina Avram tallied her second straight double-double with 14 digs and 11 kills.

Little Rock started the night with a 7-4 lead before Appalachian State called the first timeout of the match. Appalachian State got within one at 8-7, but Little Rock stayed out in front for the rest of the set. The Trojans ended the set with a seven-point lead as they took the frame 25-18. Milovanovic led the set with four kills while Avram added seven digs. The Trojans hit .343 for the set compared to Appalachian State's .073.

The second set was lot closer as both teams battled into extra points. The Trojans earned set point at 24-23, but a kill by the Mountaineers' Jess Keller tied the match. Appalachian State earned set point with a kill by Emily Corrgian, but a kill by Marin evened the set once again at 25-25. The Mountaineers then got a run going to win the set 27-25 off kills from Corrigan and Ashton Gregory. Almeida earned 13 digs in the set alone as she finished the frame with a total of 19.

The third frame of action saw the set come down to the final points once again. Little Rock had a share of the lead all the way until 21-20. Appalachian State then went on a four-point run to claim set point at 24-21. After the Mountaineers gave the Trojans a point on an attack error, Appalachian State claimed the set with a Little Rock attack error at 25-22.

Appalachian State came out strong in the fourth set and took the frame 25-19. Down by five at 12-7, Little Rock brought the match two within two at 19-17. The Mountaineers finished the match on a 6-2 run.

Miona Milovanovic tied a career-high with 12 kills for the match, and Taylor Lindberg tallied 35 assists, five kills and four blocks.

Carolee Dillard recorded eight kills for the match while Veronica Marin had three kills and four blocks.

Sydnee Martin finished up with eight digs, and Kelsey Leech tallied four.

Little Rock continues the weekend by returning to action at Georgia State on Sunday at 11 a.m. (CDT).