Trojans Fall in Four Sets to South Alabama

LITTLE ROCK – The Trojan volleyball team won the first set against South Alabama but dropped the next three, giving the Jaguars a 3-1 (15-25, 25-16, 25-21, 26-24) win over the Trojans at the Jack Stephens Center on Saturday night.
 
The Trojans (9-14, 5-5 Sun Belt Conference) completely controlled the opening set of the night against the Jaguars (13-9, 4-5), but South Alabama took over after that and held on in a tight fourth set to take the match.
 
Edina Selimovic led the Trojans with 14 kills and had a match-high .406 hitting percentage and five total blocks. Kelsey Leech came up one dig shy of her career-high with 22 while adding two aces. Taylor Lindberg had a match-high 34 assists.
 
Marina Avram, Veronica Marin and Miona Milovanovic each put down 11 kills while Milovanovic hit .370 with three block assists. Avram came up a dig shy of a double-double with nine.
 
Leading 24-19 in the fourth set, South Alabama looked to be in line for a comfortable win. But Little Rock stormed back to make things interesting, picking up the next five points to stave off the loss and make the Jaguars take a timeout. After the timeout, though, Kristina Alabastro got kills on consecutive points to give the visitors the victory.
 
Edina Selimovic led the Trojans with 14 kills. Marina Avram, Veronica Marin and Miona Milovanovic each had 11. Taylor Lindberg was the team's top setter with 34 assists, and Kelsey Leech picked up 22 digs. The Trojans outblocked the Jaguars 10-6 with Selimovic leading the way with five block assist.
 
The third set was very close for the first half, and the teams were tied at the set's midway point at 13-13. South Alabama went on a 6-0 run after that, distancing themselves from Little Rock three kills, two Trojan attack errors and a block. The Jaguars went on to win the set by four.
 
After failing in the first set, South Alabama came out on top in the second set by pulling away from the Trojans late. The teams were tied at 10-10, but the Jaguars put up four of the next five points to take a 14-11 lead and force a Little Rock timeout. Little Rock never recovered, and South Alabama pulled away to take a 9-point victory in the set.
 
The first set was all Trojans, as the team jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never looked back. Little Rock held South Alabama to a .086 hitting percentage and tallied five blocks. The Trojans expanded their early 4-point lead to as many as 10 throughout the set, and that was their eventual margin of victory in the frame.
 
Carolee Dillard put down six kills. She also put up four block assists — tying the program's career record of 443. Dillard now has 549 total blocks for her career — 16 away from breaking the program's all-time record.
 
Sydnee Martin scooped up eight digs while Hope Larmour tallied three.
 
Little Rock has just one day to rest before its next game, as the Trojans will travel to Jonesboro on Monday night for a showdown with Arkansas State at 6 p.m.