Trojans Begin 2015 Season at Bluegrass Invitational

Match Notes (PDF)

Match 1: Little Rock vs. IUPUI
Friday, Aug. 28 • 3:30 p.m. (CDT)
Lexington, Ky. • Memorial Coliseum 
Live Stats
 
Match 2: Little Rock vs. #19 Michigan State
Saturday, Aug. 29 • 11:30 a.m. (CDT)
Lexington, Ky. • Memorial Coliseum 
Live Stats

Match 3: Little Rock at #15 Kentucky
Saturday, Aug. 29 • 6:30 p.m. (CDT)
Lexington, Ky. • Memorial Coliseum
Live Stats | Live Video

LITTLE ROCK – After the best season in program history in 2014, Little Rock volleyball hopes to match or exceed that success with the new 2015 season that starts on Friday in Lexington, Ky. The defending Sun Belt-champion Trojans face the IUPUI Jaguars to open the season and then face a tall order in taking on No. 19 Michigan State and tournament-host No. 15 Kentucky on Saturday.

FIRST SERVE

• Little Rock will open the 2015 season against IUPUI after coming off the best season in program history.
• The Trojans earned their first-ever NCAA Tournament win over No. 16-seeded Kansas in a five-set thriller in Topeka, Kan.
• The Trojans finished the 2014 season with a final ranking of 24 in the final AVCA Coaches Poll, marking the program's first-ever top 25 ranking.
• Little Rock ended the 2014 season with a five-set loss to Oregon State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
• Prior to its loss to Oregon State, Little Rock had the longest winning streak in the nation at 25 matches, the longest in program history.
• Coach Van Compton earned the honor of being named AVCA Southwest Region Coach of the Year after finishing 30-5 overall with an undefeated 20-0 conference record.
• This will be the first time in program history that Little Rock has faced ranked opponents in back-to-back matches.

FOLLOW THE TROJANS
Fans can monitor all the action by following @LittleRockVB on Twitter.

SERIES AGAINST THE OPPONENTS
This will be Little Rock's first-ever meeting with IUPUI, Michigan State and Kentucky.

SCOUTING IUPUI (0-0 OVERALL, 0-0 SUMMIT)
The Jaguars enter 2015 after winning The Summit League regular-season championship with a 13-3 conference record and finished 20-13 overall. IUPUI returns their top hitter, Kaitlyn Hickey, who finished fourth in the conference with 442 kills. Hickey was a defensive threat as well as she recorded the 10th-most digs in the conference with 368. Hickey was an AVCA All-American Honorable Mention and an All-Summit League performer.

The Jags' duo of setters, Alexis Mapes and Ashley Hacker return for their junior and sophomore seasons. The two combined for 1,292 assists last season. Mapes had the fourth-most assists in the conference with 953. IUPUI also returns their top blocker, Logan Walling, who recorded the seventh-most blocks in the conference with 104.

SCOUTING #19 MICHIGAN STATE (0-0 OVERALL, 0-0 BIG TEN)
The Spartans finished the 2014 season with a seventh-place finish in the Big Ten and compiled a 19-14 record overall. Michigan State made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after winning in four sets against Loyola Marymount and taking a four-set loss to Stanford.

Michigan State returns two AVCA All-American Honorable Mentions in outside hitter Chloe Reinig and setter Rachel Minarick. Reinig had the fourth-most kills in the Big Ten with 437, while Minarick had the sixth-most assists with 1,157.

Defensively, Michigan State returns middle blocker Alyssa Garvelink who recorded the 10th-most blocks in the conference last season with 122.

SCOUTING #15 KENTUCKY (0-0 OVERALL, 0-0 SEC)
The Wildcats finished second in the SEC last season with a 15-3 record and had an overall record of 27-6. Kentucky made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after sweeping Oakland, but were held down with a four-set loss to Ohio State.

Kentucky returns AVCA Second-Team All-American setter Morgan Bergren and All-American Honorable Mention outside hitter Anni Thomasson. In 2014, Bergren had the 34th-most assist in the nation with 1,291 while Thomasson finished with 334 kills, a rate of 2.83 per set.

The Wildcats top blocker, Kaz Brown, returns after leading UK with 98 blocks and averaging 1.09 blocks per set.

BEST SEASON IN PROGRAM HISTORY
Little Rock enters the 2015 season after being what many called the "Cinderella" team of the NCAA Tournament in 2014. The Trojans finished the season strong, earning their first-ever NCAA Tournament win and advancing to the second round with a five-set win over No. 16-seeded Kansas in hostile territory. Little Rock nearly claimed the school's first-ever Sweet Sixteen bid for any sport as it went the distance with Oregon State.

PRESEASON OUTLOOK
With 2014 in the history books, this year's squad anticipates similar results. Little Rock was voted to repeat as the Sun Belt Conference champions in the Preseason Coaches Poll with 114 points and seven first-place votes, while Texas State took a close second with 108 points and three first-place votes. Last season, the Trojans went undefeated in conference play at 20-0, the best undefeated regular season in Sun Belt history. Little Rock didn't stop there as the Trojans swept their way through the Sun Belt Conference Tournament with victories against South Alabama, UT Arlington and Texas State to win their first championship since 2000.

BLOCK PARTY
Junior middle blocker Edina Selimovic was named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Team after a fantastic 2014 campaign. Selimovic led the Sun Belt in total blocks (174) and blocks per set (1.43) while ranking ninth in Division I for total blocks and 15th for blocks per set. Along with great defensive work, Selimovic mastered the serve with a league-leading 55 aces, enough for sixth in the nation, while also leading the league with 0.45 aces per set, 11th-most in Division I. Selimovic also led the team with a .321 hitting percentage, fourth-best in the conference. Selimovic's best match came with 15 kills and 11 total blocks against Texas State on Oct. 23. For her hard work, Selimovic earned Sun Belt First Team honors and was named the conference's Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 27. With fellow teammate Carolee Dillard, the two were the sixth-best blocking duo in the nation last season with a combined 323 total blocks.

COMPTON'S WINNING WAYS
Head coach Van Compton enters her 28th season as Little Rock's head coach. Compton became the Sun Belt's all-time winningest coach after she earned her 216th conference win in a sweep of Arkansas State to end the 2014 conference schedule. All of Little Rock's 473 victories have come under Compton's watch. Compton was named the Sun Belt Conference's Coach of the Year in 2014 for the second time after previously winning the award in 1993. She also took home the AVCA Southwest Region Coach of the Year award for the first time in 2014.

A WIN AGAINST IUPUI WOULD...
...give Little Rock victories in 26 of its last 27 matches dating back to last season.

A WIN AGAINST MSU OR UK WOULD...
...be the Trojans' first-ever win against a ranked team. Little Rock is currently 0-13 against ranked opponents since joining Division I in 1991.
The Trojans have also never faced ranked opponents in consecutive matches.

NATIONAL TEAM RANKINGS
Last season, Little Rock had the second-lowest opponent hitting percentage in the nation at .137, trailing Coastal Carolina by just .003.
The Trojans also ranked third with 372 total blocks and fifth with 3.05 blocks per set.

Little Rock's .274 hitting percentage was not only the best in program history and the Sun Belt last season, it ranked 10th-best in Division I.

IN THE POLLS
Little Rock received 33 votes in the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll. This marks the fourth consecutive poll in which the Trojans have been ranked or received votes.

WINNING STREAKS
The Trojans will put their 11-match road winning streak on the line when it faces the Wildcats on Saturday night. Little Rock is currently tied with Florida for the second-longest road winning streak in the nation.

Little Rock also holds the second-longest winning streak in the nation against conference opponents at 23 matches.

CAREER NUMBERS WATCH
•   Carolee Dillard is four solo blocks away from eighth-most at LR all-time, nine assisted blocks away from sixth-most all-time, and eight total blocks away from sixth-most all-time.
•   Megan Mathis is 70 assists away from having the 10th-most career assists at LR.

UP NEXT
After finishing up the Bluegrass Invitational in Lexington, Little Rock travels to Norman, Okla., for the Oklahoma Nike Invitational against Oklahoma, rival Central Arkansas and North Texas on Sept. 3-5.