Little Rock Falls in Four Sets to Auburn

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Little Rock volleyball began the Memphis Invitational with 3-1 loss to Auburn (22-25, 25-12, 15-27, 16-25) on Friday afternoon.
 
Auburn got off to a hot start with a 6-2 lead before Little Rock started closing the gap to within a point at 9-8. The Tigers started to pull away again with five consecutive points to take a 13-8 lead.  At 15-12, Auburn scored four straight points before Little Rock called a timeout, trailing 19-12. After the timeout, the Trojans went on a 4-1 run before the Tigers called their first timeout of the set. After extending the run to 9-2, Auburn called its final timeout as Little Rock tied the set at 21-21. The Tigers went on to win the set with a 4-1 run despite the Trojans outhitting Auburn .148-.116.
 
It was a completely different story in the second set as Little Rock dominated the frame with a 25-12 win. The Trojans led the entirety of the set as they started the set with a 3-0 lead. Little Rock took a 10-point lead at 15-5 with a kill by Marina Avram. Carolee Dillard was on fire with six kills and finished the set hitting .667 for the match. With set point at 24-12, Dillard put the set away with her eighth kill of the match. As a team, the Trojans hit .414 for the set compared to Auburn's flat .000.
 
The third set was a lot tighter as both teams were neck and neck throughout. Little Rock's largest lead of the set came at 21-17 after an Avram kill. Auburn then took advantage of a 7-2 run to take set point at 24-23, forcing Little Rock to call a timeout. The Tigers then served into the net to tie the set at 24-24. Megan Mathis dumped the ball to the back corner of the court to give the Trojans set point at 25-24. However, the Tigers ended the set on a three-point run with two kills and an ace to win 27-25.
 
The Trojans started the fourth set with a 2-0 lead, but the Tigers grabbed the lead for good at 8-7 and never looked back.  Auburn went on to score eight straight point and build a 15-7 lead before Little Rock responded with a kill by a Dillard. The Tigers finished the set and match with a 25-16 win.
 
Carolee Dillard finished the match with career-highs for kills (17) and hitting percentage (.654). She also added five assisted blocks.
 
Edina Selimovic tallied 11 kills for the match in addition to five total blocks (one solo and four assisted). Selimovic also hit .381 for the match.
 
Marina Avram ended the match with seven kills and three blocks. She also had the Trojans' only service ace for the match.
 
Megan Mathis had 34 assists with eight digs, four kills and three block assists.
 
Priscila Almeida earned 19 digs, while Kelsey Leech and Sydnee Martin finished with 11 and 10, respectively.
 
Miona Milovanovic finished with five kills and one block, while Veronica Marin had three assisted blocks and one kill.
 
As a team, Little Rock outhit Auburn by a margin of .274 to .169. The Trojans also outblocked the Tigers 11-6.
 
Little Rock returns to action at 5 p.m. with its first-ever meeting with the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles.