OXFORD, Miss. – Little Rock stumbled for the first time in 2018, dropping a pair of hard-fought matches to Southern Miss and Ole Miss at the Rebel Invitational. The Trojans fall to 5-2 on the season following the pair of losses to Mississippi foes.
Match One – Southern Miss 3, Little Rock 2
Little Rock found itself in unchartered territory in its Saturday opener against Southern Miss, dropping the first two sets against the Golden Eagles 25-19 and 25-21 and facing an elimination set for the first time all season.
In set three, the Trojans and Golden Eagles exchanged the first 20 points before the Trojans built a 14-11 lead at the midway point. Little Rock extended that lead to as many as five on a handful of occasions, holding off Southern Miss for the 25-21 victory.
Match four played out in similar fashion as the third with Little Rock taking the 14-12 lead, but a stingy Golden Eagle attack wouldn't go away, tying the match on six different occasions. The last of which came at 18-18 before a 4-1 run for the Trojans put them in control, holding on for the 25-22 victory.
But the rally came up short in the fifth set as after the two teams were deadlocked at 4-4 early, Southern Miss reeled off the final 11 points of the match, handing Little Rock its first defeat of the season.
Inside the Stats
- Carol Barbosa paced the Trojans with 12 kills on 29 attempts, adding three blocks and three digs.
- Laura Jansen was the other Trojan to finish with double-digit kills, posting 11 while hitting .286.
- Maritza Mesa and Veronica Marin each posted nine kills for Little Rock as Marin registered four blocks with Mesa adding a pair.
- Taylor Lindberg led the way with 27 assists for Little Rock, complemented by seven kills, a pair of blocks and four digs.
- Three different Trojans posted 10-or-more digs, led by 23 from Sydnee Martin, who also had three service aces. Mya Robinson added 18 digs with five kills while Diana Giordani posted a season-high 11 digs.
Match Two – Ole Miss 3, Little Rock 1
Little Rock tried to shake off its loss earlier in the day to Southern Miss, rebounding to take on the host Rebels in the afternoon match. The Rebels took control early in set one, taking the opener 25-18, but the Trojans weren't going down without a fight. Little Rock and Ole Miss combined for 10 ties and six lead changes in set two, as the Rebels appeared poised to take a commanding 2-0 lead, boasting a 23-21 lead late.
But the Trojans reeled off three-straight points off a timeout, comprised of kills from
Laura Jansen and
Taylor Lindberg and a block from Lindberg and
Veronica Marin to take a 24-34 lead. Ole Miss tied the game at 24, but the Trojans rebounded with kills from Marin and a Rebel attack error to take the second set 26-24 and tie the match at a game apiece.
Unfortunately, that was as close as Little Rock would get to pulling the upset on the Rebels' home court as Ole Miss pulled away late in both of the final two sets, notching 25-21 victories in both to hand the Trojans their second loss of both the day and the season.
Inside the Stats
- Veronica Marin closed out an impressive weekend with 10 kills to lead Little Rock, hitting .333 with six blocks.
- Mya Robinson and Laura Jansen each added nine kills offensively for the Trojans and combined for three blocks with Jansen hitting .240 and Robinson adding seven digs.
- Taylor Lindberg posted another solid outing, dishing out 19 assists with eight kills, two blocks, six digs and a pair of service aces.
- Maritza Mesa also added eight kills offensively, hitting .353 with just a pair of attack errors.
- Pamela Zuluaga led the Trojans with 25 assists and 11 digs with Sydnee Martin posting 16 digs.
Looking Ahead
Little Rock continues its preseason tournament schedule next weekend, but will get to stay much closer to home, competing in the UCA Invitational in Conway September 6-8. The Trojans open up the event with its Governor's I-40 Showdown with Central Arkansas on Thursday, September 6, getting underway at 7 p.m. The Trojans then face in-state rival Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Friday, September 7 before closing out the event facing South Dakota on Saturday, September 8.
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