Little Rock Victorious in Sweep of North Texas

NORMAN, Okla. – Little Rock volleyball (2-4) grabbed its second win of the season with a 3-0 sweep (25-23, 25-19, 25-23) of North Texas (3-4) on Saturday afternoon.
 
Juniors Edina Selimovic and Megan Mathis were named to the Oklahoma Nike Invitational All-Tournament Team for their outstanding performance in the three-match tournament. Selimovic totaled 35 kills, a .351 hitting percentage, 10 total blocks and had four aces over the course of the three matches. Mathis tallied 103 assists with 13 kills and seven blocks.
 
With a two set lead to begin the third frame, Little Rock got out to a 10-6 lead before North Texas took a timeout. After the timeout, the Mean Green went on to score eight consecutive points and take a 14-10 lead over the Trojans. Little Rock finally caught up at 17-17 after going on a 7-3 run. The two squads traded the lead a few more times before Little Rock grabbed the lead for good with match point at 24-23. The Trojans grabbed the sweep with Selimovic's 13th kill of the match.
 
In the second set, the Trojans trailed 4-2 before Selimovic tallied a kill and an ace to tie the match. Little Rock and North Texas traded the lead until knotting up the set at 12-12. After the tie, Little Rock led for the remainder of the frame and won 25-19. The Trojans' six-point lead was the largest of the entire match.
 
The first set started and finished in a dead heat as neither team held more than a four-point lead throughout. Little Rock's largest lead of the set came at 16-12 after an ace by Selimovic. The Mean Green eventually tied the set at 18-18 on a kill by Molly Hilam. Little Rock and North Texas remained tied until a kill by Miona Milovanovic gave Little Rock the advantage at 22-21. The Trojans took a three-point lead with set point at 24-21, but the Mean Green battled back to bring the set to 24-23. After a Little Rock timeout, North Texas served into the net, giving the Trojans a 25-23 win.
 
Selimovic finished the match with 13 kills and a team-high .290 hitting percentage on a career-high 31 attempts. She also came away with two aces, six digs and three total blocks (two solo and one assisted).
 
Setter Megan Mathis racked up 36 assists with five kills and five digs.
 
Milovanovic tallied seven kills with four digs, while Carolee Dillard had six kills along with three total blocks.
 
Marina Avram nearly had a double-digit kill total as she came away with nine. Avram also tallied six digs.
 
Libero Priscila Almeida totaled 17 digs for the match and had one service ace.
 
Kelsey Leech had a career-high four service aces in a great 13-dig performance. Leech also earned her third-career kill, her first since her freshman season in 2013.
 
Veronica Marin finished the afternoon with three kills and three total blocks.
 
Freshman defensive specialist Sydnee Martin ended the day with four digs.
 
Little Rock will now prepare for its final preconference tournament of the season in Memphis, Tenn., starting on Friday against Auburn, Tennessee Tech, UAPB and tournament-host Memphis.