Trojans Sweep UT Arlington To Begin Sun Belt Tourney

STATESBORO, Ga. – No. 5 seed Little Rock volleyball (14-13) started the Sun Belt Conference Tournament with a 3-0 sweep (25-23, 25-19, 25-19) over No. 4 seed UT Arlington (19-10) on Friday afternoon at the Hanner Fieldhouse on the campus of Georgia Southern.
 
Marina Avram had a match-high 13 kills and was the only player in the match with a double-digit kill total. Megan Mathis recorded a match-high 38 assists, and Edina Selimovic tallied a match-high with three aces and tied the match-high with four total blocks (three solo and one assisted). Priscila Almeida earned a match-high 16 digs in the win.
 
The match got off to a tight start as both squads remained within three points of each other to begin the match. The Trojans grabbed their first lead of the frame at 5-4, but the Mavericks quickly regained the lead. Little Rock took the lead once again at 21-20, but a service error knotted the set. After a UT Arlington service error, Little Rock grabbed the lead at 22-21 and held on for the remainder of the frame. With the Trojans holding set point at 24-23, the Mavs served up an error to give Little Rock the set. Veronica Marin hit a perfect 1.000 for the frame as she led the Trojans with five kills. Sydnee Martin led the frame with seven digs.
 
Little Rock began the second frame white hot as it built a 12-3 lead. UT Arlington wouldn't go down easy as it fought back to cut the deficit to four points at 20-16. The Trojans then earned three straight points off kills by Avram and Dillard and an ace by Selimovic to take a 23-16 lead. With set point at 24-19, Avram earned her ninth kill to take the second set and give the Trojans a 2-0 lead for the match. Martin tallied another seven digs to give her 14 for the match. Mathis ended the frame with 26 assists.
 
After UT Arlington grabbed the first point of the third set, Little Rock went on a five-point run to grab a 5-1 lead and stayed ahead for the rest of the frame. The Trojans took their largest lead of the set at 19-12 on a UTA attack error. With Little Rock up 20-13, the Mavs tallied four straight points to cut the deficit to three. After an Avram kill, UTA made it a two-point set at 21-19 after a kill and a Trojan attack error. Little Rock then put the set and match away with four straight points to take a 25-19 win.
 
In addition to her ace and block totals, Selimovic racked up nine kills while Marin did the same. Carolee Dillard and Miona Milovanovic each tallied four kills and three blocks. Milovanovic hit a match-high .300 on 10 attempts.
 
Martin ended the match with 14 digs and an ace while Kelsey Leech had seven digs.
 
The Trojans beat UTA in hitting percentage (.188-.109), kills (42-35), assists (41-33), digs (56-45) and total blocks (9-5).
 
This is the second straight year Little Rock has swept a No. 4 seed UT Arlington team in the Sun Belt Tournament.
 
The Trojans now advance to the tournament semifinals for the second straight year and will face the winner of No. 1 seed Arkansas State and No. 8 seed Georgia Southern on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. (CST).