Trojans Set For Semifinal Showdown vs. Red Wolves

Match Notes (PDF)

Match 28: No. 5 Little Rock vs. No. 1 Arkansas State
Saturday, Nov. 21 • 5:30 p.m. (CST)
Statesboro, Ga. • Hanner Fieldhouse
Live Stats | Live Video (ESPN3)

STATESBORO, Ga. – After sweeping UT Arlington in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament for the second straight year on Friday, No. 5 seed Little Rock volleyball (14-13) will face No. 1 seed Arkansas State (26-1, 16-0) for the third time this season in the tournament's semifinals on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. (CST). Saturday's match will air live on ESPN3 from Hanner Fieldhouse on the campus of Georgia Southern.
 
FIRST SERVE

• This is the second straight year Little Rock has made it to the conference tournament semifinals.
• Little Rock is 8-4 all-time in Sun Belt semifinal matches.
• Little Rock is the first team in the rally-scoring era to record four consecutive sweeps at the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
• Priscila Almeida is 21 digs shy of breaking the Little Rock single-season record of 537.
• This is the third straight season Little Rock has recorded at least 14 wins.
• Little Rock and Arkansas State have never faced each other in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
• The last time the Trojans and Red Wolves faced each other in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament was in 2013.
• Edina Selimovic and Carolee Dillard earned Sun Belt All-Conference Team honors.
• Little Rock led in opponent hitting percentage, blocks, aces and digs in the first day of the Sun Belt Tournament.

 
FOLLOW THE TROJANS
Fans can monitor all the action by following @LittleRockVB on Twitter.
 
SCOUTING ARKANSAS STATE (26-1, 16-0 SUN BELT)
The Red Wolves swept No. 8 seed Georgia Southern to begin the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, but the Eagles hung around to make each set a close one. In their first tournament match, the Red Wolves had the third-best hitting percentage (.289), third-best opponent hitting percentage (.157), fourth-most assists per set (13.00), third-most kills per set (14.67), tied for the second-most blocks per set, tied for the third-most aces per set (1.00) and had the third-most digs per set (17.00)
 
A-State's Carlisa May tied for the sixth-most kills per set at 4.00 while she tied for the third-best hitting percentage at .478. Kelsey Reis had the fifth-best hitting percentage at .478. Mallory Warrington ranked fourth for assists per set (12.00).
 
Defensively, Reis had the most blocks per set at 1.67 and was the only A-State player in the top eight. Markie Schaedig led the way with 6.33 digs per set.
 
SERIES AGAINST ARKANSAS STATE
Being in-state rivals, Little Rock and Arkansas State have played their fair share of matches against each other over the years. The Red Wolves hold a 6-2 lead over the Trojans at the Sun Belt Tournament.
 
Overall, A-State is 35-19 against Little Rock since the Trojans joined Division I in 1991.
 
Of the opponents left in the Sun Belt Tournament, Little Rock has taken the most sets against Arkansas State this season with three. Appalachian State only won a set in two meetings while Texas State took two sets in their only match against the Red Wolves.
 
RETURN TO THE SEMIFINALS
Little Rock returns to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament semifinals for the second straight year. In Sun Belt semifinal matches, the Trojans sport a winning record of 8-4. Prior to last year's appearance, Little Rock had not played a semifinals match since 2005.
 
A WIN AGAINST ARKANSAS STATE WOULD…
…snap the Trojans two-match skid against the Red Wolves in the tournament. It would also be Little Rock's 20th win in the series since joining Division I in 1991.
 
A win would also put Little Rock in the tournament's championship match for the second straight year.
 
A win would also snap Arkansas State's 22-match winning streak, the longest in Division I.
 
TOURNAMENT SWEEP STREAK
With yesterday's 3-0 win over UT Arlington, Little Rock became the first team in the rally-scoring era to record four consecutive sweeps at the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. That's 12 straight sets without a loss.
 
DIGGING FOR RECORDS
Senior libero Priscila Almeida's 16 digs against UT Arlington moved her to 517 for the season, the second-most in a single season in program history. With 21 digs against the Red Wolves, Almeida would become the new record holder for digs in a single season with 538, passing Amy Hafner's record of 537 in 2007.
 
Almeida's pace is also noteworthy as she has accomplished her second-place ranking in just 99 sets. All other Trojans with single-season dig totals in the top 10 have played at least 106 frames.
 
14 WINS AND COUNTING
The Trojans earned their 14th win of the season on Friday. This is the third straight season Little Rock has recorded at least 14.
 
A RIVALRY FIRST
Since joining the Sun Belt in 1991, Little Rock and Arkansas State have never faced each other in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
 
ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
Selimovic earned a spot on the All-SBC First Team for the second straight year after earning 3.16 kills per set, hitting .323 and tallying 1.16 blocks per set during the regular season. Selimovic became the Trojans' 25th First Team selection in the history of the program.
 
Dillard was named to the All-SBC Second Team after leading the conference with 115 blocks and 1.20 blocks per set during the regular season. With her first All-Conference selection, Dillard becomes the Trojans' 20th Second Team selection in program history.
 
This is the third straight year that Little Rock has had at least two All-Conference selections. Little Rock now has 45 All-Conference selections in 21 of the last 22 years.
 
LEADING THE FIELD
With the first day of competition in the books, the Trojans had a good day statistically. Little Rock tallied the best opponent hitting percentage at .109, the most blocks per set at 3.00, the most aces per set at 1.33 and tied for the most digs per set at 18.67.
 
The Trojans' 13.67 assists per set ranked third, their 14.00 kills per set ranked fourth and their .188 hitting percentage ranked fifth.
 
Individually, Edina Selimovic led the way with one ace per set. Marina Avram tied for the second-most kills per set at 4.33, and Megan Mathis recorded the third-most assists per set with 12.67. Priscila Almeida and Sydnee Martin ranked third and fifth with 5.33 and 4.67 digs per set, respectively.
 
Little Rock was the only team to have more than one player listed in the top eight for blocks and ended up having three. Selimovic tied for the second-most with 1.33 per set while Miona Milovanovic and Carolee Dillard tied for fourth with 1.00 per set.
 
FIRST SET PRECEDENT
Little Rock is 14-3 when winning the first set this season. When winning the first two sets, the Trojans are 10-1.
 
ACE YOUR FACE
The Trojans are 10-2 this season when recording more aces than their opponents.
 
CAREER NUMBERS WATCH

• At 427 career blocks, Carolee Dillard is eight shy of ranking second in program history.
• With 349 block assists, Dillard ranks second all-time at Little Rock.
• Dillard's 78 solo blocks are tied for sixth all-time.
• Dillard is two solo blocks away from 100 for the season.
• Kelsey Leech is two aces shy of 25 for her career and 16 digs shy of 600.
• Veronica Marin's next block assist will be her 70th.
• Edina Selimovic is 11 blocks shy of 300.
• Selimovic's next block assist will be her 100th of the season.
• Selimovic is three aces away from 90 for her career.

 
NEXT UP
With a win against the Red Wolves, Little Rock would advance to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Championship match for the second straight year and would face the winner of No. 2 Appalachian State and No. 3 Texas State on Sunday at 12 p.m. (CST).