Dillard Records 500th Block as Trojans Fall 3-1

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Little Rock volleyball (4-8) fell in four sets (19-25, 25-17, 23-25, 24-26) to North Texas (6-8) on Saturday morning at Shelton Gym on the campus of Stephen F. Austin.
 
Little Rock's Carolee Dillard became the second Trojan in program history with 500 career blocks as the redshirt senior tallied six for the match. Dillard had a team-high .342 hitting percentage to go along with 14 kills.
 
Veronica Marin had a team-high 16 kills for the Trojans while hitting .342 with five blocks. Edina Selimovic recorded a match-high nine total blocks and three aces as she also earned eight kills. Taylor Lindberg put up 44 assists with eight digs, four blocks and three kills. Kelsey Leech tallied her most digs since her freshman season with 20, coming up two shy of her career high.
 
The Trojans won the block battle for the 12th consecutive match with a 19-8 margin of victory. Little Rock's 19 blocks were the second-most by the team this season. The Trojans' 36 block assists tied for the second-most in program history.
 
Little Rock had a 2-1 lead early in the first set, but it quickly faded as North Texas got out to a nine-point lead at 13-4. The Trojans brought the deficit down to two at 16-14 before the Mean Green pulled away to take the set by six points.
 
The Trojans finally woke up in the second set as they took the frame by eight points. Knotted at 13, Little Rock rallied with a 12-4 run to take the set.
 
After starting the third set down 6-1, the Trojans fought back to tie the frame at 13. From there, Little Rock and North Texas match each other point for point as they stayed knotted until 23-23. With Little Rock ahead 23-22, the Mean Green earned points off two kills and a Trojan ball handling error to win the set.
 
With Little Rock down 23-17 in the fourth frame, the Trojans crafted a 7-1 run to tie the set at 24. It wouldn't be enough as a North Texas kill and a wide Little Rock attack ended the match.
 
Daisha Gillard earned a season-high five kills and a career-high five blocks while Marin Avram tallied five kills and a season-high 11 digs. Aubrey Wilson three blocks, and Hope Larmour sccoped up six digs with an ace.
 
The Trojans will return to action against Stephen F. Austin this afternoon at 2 p.m. The match will air live on ESPN3.