LITTLE ROCK – With the regular season finished, Little Rock volleyball (12-17, 8-8 Sun Belt) will look to compete for the Sun Belt Conference Championship beginning this weekend in Arlington, Texas. The No. 5 seed Trojans will first take on tournament host and No. 4 seed UT Arlington (16-15, 10-6) at 7:30 p.m., on Friday in College Park Center. All tournament matches will air live on WatchESPN/ESPN3.
Â
This is the second consecutive season that Little Rock and UT Arlington have faced each other as both were seeded the same last year. The Trojans moved on to the semifinals after defeating the Mavericks in straight sets.
Â
Little Rock and UT Arlington have already faced each other twice this season with the Mavericks gaining the upper hand in both meetings.
Â
Not only would a win move Little Rock on to the semifinals, it would also be head coach
Van Compton's 500th career victory. Compton would become the 37th active Division I coach with 500 wins.
Â
- Little Rock is a No. 5 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament for the second consecutive year.
- This is Little Rock's sixth straight appearance in the Sun Belt Tournament.
- The Trojans have successfully qualified for the Sun Belt Tournament 24 of their 26 seasons in the Sun Belt.
- Coach Van Compton's next victory will be her 500th.
- Currently at 585 career blocks, Carolee Dillard is 17 away from tying the Sun Belt's all-time record.
- Little Rock has the fourth-most total blocks in Division I with 333.5.
- The Trojans average the fifth-most blocks per set in the nation at 3.03.
- Dillard has tallied the 10th-most blocks in the nation this year with 156 — four off her career-high for blocks in a single season.
- Dillard and Edina Selimovic are the second-best blocking duo in the nation with 293 combined blocks for the year.
- Little Rock has recorded double-digit blocks in 20 of 29 matches this season and has only been outblocked three times.
- A win over UT Arlington would put Little Rock in the tournament's semifinals for the third consecutive season.
