OXFORD, Miss. – For the first time all season, Little Rock found itself on the short end at the end of a set, dropping its opener to Samford at the Rebel Invitational. But that defeat proved to provide a spark for the Trojans, who rattled off wins in the next three sets to take the 23-25, 25-20, 25-18, 25-9 victory over the Bulldogs.
With the victory, Little Rock improves to 5-0 on the season, tying the program's 5-0 mark in 1998 for the best start in program history. The Trojans have also matched that 1998 team by playing just 16 sets in those five games, registering four sweeps and one 3-1 victory.
Trailing 17-14 in the opening set, Little Rock rallied to take an 18-17 advantage, only to see Samford reel off four-straight to pull in front 21-18. The Trojans rallied once again, scoring four-straight of their own to reclaim the lead at 22-21, but the Bulldogs scored four of the final five points to take the opener.
Little Rock wasted no time rebounding in set two, scoring nine of the first 10 points and cruising to a 9-1 lead. Samford slowly chipped away, pulling to within one at both 16-15 and 20-19, but the Trojans closed out the set the same way they started – stringing together a 5-1 run to even the match at 1-1.
From that point on, the Trojans remained in control. Little Rock built another early lead in set three at 8-4, then extended that advantage to as many as nine at both 21-12 and 22-13, earning the 2-1 lead with the 25-18 victory. Set four then belonged to Little Rock from the opening as with the Trojans leading 12-8, Little Rock outscored Samford 13-1 down the stretch to close out the fifth-straight victory.
Inside the Stats
- With the win, Little Rock improves to 2-1 all-time against Samford, notching its first victory over the Bulldogs since 1993.
- Sydnee Martin finished with 17 digs, upping her career total to 1,057, moving into sixth-place all-time in program history.
- Mya Robinson led the way for Little Rock with 14 kills on 45 attempts while adding nine digs and a block. It is Robinson's second double-digit kill total on the season.
- Laura Jansen just missed joining the double-digit kill club, finishing with nine to complement her three blocks.
- Carol Barbos finished with 11 kills and just one error, hitting .556 for the match, while adding five blocks to up her total to 25 already on the season.
- The setter duo of Taylor Lindberg and Pamela Zuluaga each posted a double-double on the afternoon as the pair each dished out 18 assists with 10 and 11 digs, respectively. Lindberg also assisted on three blocks defensively.
- Diana Giordani registered 10 digs for Little Rock, setting a new career-high.
- Little Rock combined for seven service aces against the Bulldogs, highlighted by three from Veronica Marin and a pair from Robinson.
Up Next
Little Rock puts its 5-0 record on the line in a pair of challenging matches Saturday at the Rebel Invitational. The Trojans begin the day facing Southern Miss at 9:30 a.m. before closing out their trip with a showdown against host Ole Miss at 3:30 p.m. The game against the Rebels will be broadcast live on SEC Network .
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