Trojans Win Five-Set Thriller Over UT Arlington

LITTLE ROCK – In head coach Van Compton's 800th Division I match, Little Rock volleyball earned a thrilling five-set win (25-19, 13-25, 25-16, 22-25, 15-10) over division-foe UT Arlington on Saturday night at the Jack Stephens Center.
 
Marina Avram earned her sixth double-double of the season with 11 kills and 11 digs for the Trojans (6-12, 2-4 Sun Belt). Veronica hit a team-high .267 with 10 kills and three total blocks (two solo and one assisted). Sydnee Martin scooped up a career-high 29 digs with a kill and an ace. Daisha Gillard put up a career-high seven blocks (two solo and five assisted) and tied her career high with nine aces. Taylor Lindberg put up a match-high 37 assists with three kills, eight digs, an ace and two block assists.
 
Qiana Canete led the Mavericks (8-11, 2-4 Sun Belt) with a double-double of her own as she put down a match-high 22 kills with 15 digs. Haley Higgins and Madison Felt each had 25 assists while Libbie Vickers led the match with 32 digs.
 
Tied 4-4 in the fifth set, Little Rock used a 6-2 run to go up 10-6. The Mavs brought the set back to two points at 10-8, but the Trojans maintained control and ended the set on a 5-2 run. Little Rock's defense was responsible for six total blocks in the set and held UTA's offense to a flat .000 hitting percentage. Four of Gillard's seven blocks occurred during the set.
 
UTA led the entirety of the fourth set as it never gave up the lead. As the Mavs earned set point with a 24-18 lead, Little Rock scored four consecutive points thanks to a kill by Mya Robinson and three UTA errors. The Mavs' Kylie Jedlicka final put the set away with a kill. Robinson led the set with 10 digs while Marin had five kills.
 
After a lopsided loss in the second set, Little Rock rebounded nicely in the third frame with a nine-point win. The Trojans hit a match-high .364 during the set with 14 kills while the Mavericks hit .258. Despite the point differential, the set had 10 tie scores and four lead changes — the most of any set. Robinson led the Trojans with five kills on 11 swings with no errors.
 
The Trojans' worst set of the night occurred during the second frame as it hit -.029 while the Mavericks had their best set of the night with a .400 hitting percentage. As a result, UTA went on to take a 12-point victory.
 
Little Rock began the match with a six-point win over the Mavericks. The Trojans trailed 7-4 early on, but they rallied with a 13-4 run to go up 17-11 and forced a Maverick timeout. UTA managed to cut the deficit to four, but it was too little, too late as Little Rock maintained control for the rest of the set. Martin had an incredible first set as she dug up 12 digs and earned a kill. Avram led the Trojans with four kills as the team hit .270 compared to the Mavs' .085.
 
Robinson ended the match with a career-high 18 digs along with nine kills and an ace. Off the bench, Nedima Kamberovic finished with two kills while Jovana Cernjanski had two digs.
 
The Trojans' victory was their first over the Mavericks at home since 2015.
 
Little Rock will now turn its attention to Monday night as it travels to Jonesboro to take on rival Arkansas State at 6:30 p.m. The match will air live on ESPN3.