NORMAN, Okla. – Little Rock volleyball (1-4) earned its first victory of the 2015 season with a four-set win (25-22, 25-20, 23-25, 25-18) over in-state rival Central Arkansas (1-4) on Friday afternoon.
With a 2-1 match lead heading into the fourth set, Little Rock took a 9-5 lead to start the frame before Central Arkansas called its first timeout. The Trojans continued to score coming out of the timeout, building a 13-7 lead with a UCA service error and kills from Marina Avram, Megan Mathis, and Milovanovic. The Trojans took their largest lead with set point at 24-15 after a Sugar Bear attack error. With its back against a wall, UCA rattled off three points to bring the set to 24-18. This last-ditch effort wouldn't be enough as a Carolee Dillard's 10th kill sealed the deal.
Little Rock started the third set with a 2-0 lead after a UCA attack error and a kill by Miona Milovanovic. The Sugar Bears quickly got back into it with four consecutive points, forcing the Trojans to call a timeout. After the Little Rock timeout, UCA earned their fifth and sixth consecutive points until a Selimovic kill ended the run. The Trojans fought back with a 7-1 run to take a 9-7 lead before the Sugar Bears called their first timeout. Tied 13-13, UCA earned three straight points on a kill and two aces before Little Rock took a timeout of its own. Down 19-15, Little Rock fought back and cut the deficit to one at 21-20. With Little Rock trailing 24-23, UCA took the set with a kill by Heather Schnars.
The second set was tightly contested as neither squad had more than a three-point lead until Little Rock went up 23-19 late in the frame. Tied 18-18, Little Rock went on a 7-2 run to close out the set, taking a 2-0 lead for the match. Milovanovic led the set with four kills and a .667 hitting percentage, while Carolee Dillard earned three total blocks and two kills. Priscila Almeida came through defensively with five digs.
In the first set, Little Rock and Central Arkansas remained tied until the 4-4 mark. The Trojans then went on to score four consecutive points on two kills, an ace and a Sugar Bears attack error to take an 8-4 lead. Little Rock proceeded to go on an 8-3 run before Central Arkansas called its final timeout of the set at 16-7. The Trojans continued the assault on the Sugar Bears, building a 23-15 lead. However, Central Arkansas clawed its way back into the set, getting within two at 24-22. Little Rock finally ended the set with a 25-22 win after Edina Selimovic's fourth kill.
Selimovic finished the match with a career-high 16 kills and hit a season-high .556 on 27 attempts for the match. Selimovic was also a menace defensively with seven total blocks.
Avram earned her first-career double-double as she came up with a career-highs for kills and digs with 13 each.
Dillard tallied 10 kills while hitting .292 for the match. She also contributed defensively with seven total blocks (two solo and five assisted).
Mathis finished up with a season-high 42 assists, six assisted blocks and four kills. She nearly came away with a double-double as she racked up eight digs.
Milovanovic played her best match so far in a Trojan uniform with eight kills and three blocks.
Freshman Veronica Marin tied a season-high with four kills and set a new season-high with three total blocks.
Senior libero Priscila Almeida finished the afternoon with 16 digs, while Kelsey Leech and Sydnee Martin tallied 10 and 8 digs, respectively. All three recorded at least one service ace, but Leech tied Selimovic for the team-high with two.
As a team, Little Rock hit .291 for the match compared to UCA's .151. The Trojans also outblocked the Sugar Bears by a 14-8 margin.
Little Rock will now finish up the Oklahoma Nike Invitational against North Texas on Saturday at 10 a.m.
