Sugar Bears Take Down Trojans in Four Sets

CONWAY, Ark. – In its first match at Central Arkansas since 2007, Little Rock volleyball took a 3-1 loss (25-22, 17-25, 18-25, 18-25) on Thursday night at the Farris Center.
 
Veronica Marin led the Trojans (1-3) with a season-high 16 kills while leading the match with a .516 hitting percentage. Marina Avram tied her season-high with 13 kills and added three block assists. Taylor Lindberg tallied 45 assists with four kills, five digs and two block assists. Sydnee Martin led the match with 18 digs while Daisha Gillard put up a team-high four blocks with seven kills and a .417 hitting percentage.
 
The Trojans got out to a hot start in the first set as the team put down 18 kills with a .372 hitting percentage and led by as many as seven points midway through the frame. Avram led Little Rock with six kills while Lindberg tallied 12 assists. Defensively, Martin led the set with eight digs.
 
The second set was the complete opposite of the first for Little Rock as the Trojans hit just .147 for the frame while UCA hit .258. As a result, the Sugar Bears were able to build a nine-point cushion at 20-11. Little Rock brought the deficit down to five points, but it was too much as Central Arkansas ended the set on a 4-1 run. Avram added four kills for the Trojans while Lindberg tallied another 12 assists.
 
The Trojans had a rough go of it in the third frame despite outhitting UCA (.194-.125). Despite the lower hitting percentage, the Sugar Bears put down 15 kills for the set compared to the Trojans' nine. UCA built a seven-point lead at 20-13, but it was too much for Little Rock to overcome as the Trojans only cut the deficit to five.
 
The fourth set started in favor of Little Rock at 9-4, but that soon changed as UCA went on a 10-2 run to take a 14-11 lead. The Sugar Bears never relinquished the lead and went on to take the match with a seven-point win in the final set.
 
Maritza Mesa put down eight kills with eight digs and an ace. Mya Robinson had four kills and four digs while Jovana Cernjanski had seven digs, an ace and one kill.
 
Little Rock will continue the UCA Invitational on Friday as it plays UT Martin at 4 p.m., at the Farris Center.