LEXINGTON, Ky. – Little Rock volleyball suffered its third loss of the season against No. 15 Kentucky after being swept in three sets (25-23, 25-14, 25-22) on Saturday night.
Kentucky led the entirety of the first set as it went on a 6-1 run before Little Rock called a timeout. The Trojans would battle back to bring the score within one at 20-19 after going on a 7-1 run. Little Rock kept the set close Kentucky in the final points, but the Wildcats ended up taking the first set by a score of 25-23.
Kentucky did much of the same in the second set as Little Rock was forced to call a timeout after the Wildcats jumped out to an 8-3 lead. Little Rock fought back to bring the score within two at 9-7 as part of a 4-1 run. Kentucky then got hot as it went on to score six straight points to increase its lead to 15-7. The Trojans would only get within six points at 18-12 before the Wildcats pulled away to take a 25-14 win.
The Trojans had their best beginning to a set all night in the third frame as Little Rock and Kentucky remained tied until 9-9. Kentucky then scored four straight points to take a 13-9 lead, making Little Rock take its first timeout of the set. The Trojans climbed back into it and brought the match to within one at 14-13 on a Wildcat attack error. Kentucky started pulling away once again, increasing its score to 21-16 before Little Rock took its final timeout of the set. Little Rock came through with three straight points after a kill by
Marina Avram and solo blocks from
Carolee Dillard and
Veronica Marin. This forced Kentucky to take its first timeout with a 21-19 lead. Little Rock remained within two until Kentucky claimed the set and match with a 25-22 win.
Edina Selimovic came up with 10 kills and a .389 hitting percentage. For her overall performance in the tournament, she was named to the Bluegrass Invitational All-Tournament Team.
Avram had 10 kills with career-highs for hitting percentage (.292) and digs (seven). She also led the team with two aces.
Megan Mathis racked up 30 assists, her second 30-plus assist performance of the season.
Dillard finished with six kills and one solo block, while
Miona Milovanovic had five kills and one solo block.
Marin had a career-high four kills along with two total blocks and three assists.
Priscila Almeida ended the night with a team-high 13 digs, while
Sydnee Martin and
Kelsey Leech finished with five and four, respectively.
Little Rock returns to action against Oklahoma as part of the Oklahoma Nike Invitational beginning on Thursday night in Norman, Okla.
