SAN MARCOS, Texas – Facing one of the hottest teams in the Sun Belt Conference, Little Rock dug itself an early hole it was unable to climb out, falling 22-25, 15-25, 30-28, 18-25 to Texas State Friday evening in Strahan Coliseum. The loss drops the Trojans to 10-6 on the year and 2-1 in Sun Belt Conference play.
Texas State (12-5, 3-0 Sun Belt) won its seventh-straight match, outhitting Little Rock .271 to .232 while registering 23 more kills than the Trojans. Little Rock held the advantage in blocks (9-5), but came up short in both service aces (8-4) and digs (77-44).
Early in the match, Little Rock battled Texas State point-for-point in the opening set, building an early 11-8 lead and sitting even with the Bobcats at 14-14. But Texas State began to pull away in the latter stages, extending its lead to four on a number of occasions before closing out the Trojans 25-22.
The Bobcats took control of set two early, using a 9-1 run to take an 18-9 lead and never looked back, cruising to the 25-15 victory.
That set up the thrilling third set, one which saw the Trojans and Bobcats combine for 22 leads and 11 lead changes. Neither team held more than a one-point advantage until Little Rock rattled off three-straight points to take the 19-17 lead. The Trojans extended their cushion to three on a pair of occasions, holding a 22-19 edge late in the third.
But Texas State rallied to score five of the next six points and had the Trojans at match point at 24-23, only to see Little Rock fight it off. The tables then turned as the Trojans were serving for set point on four separate occasions, finally able to outlast the Bobcats off a block from
Belissa Guidotti and
Laura Jansen to clinch the third 30-28 and stay alive in the match.
However the momentum was short-lived as Texas State slowly pulled away through the opening stages of the fourth set, leading by four at 14-10 and forcing a Trojan timeout. Little Rock was able to tie the set at 16-16, but Texas State wore down the Trojan attack, notching nine of the next 11 points to hand the Trojans their first Sun Belt Conference defeat of the season.
Inside the Stats
- Texas State won its third-straight in the series against Little Rock as the Trojans fall to 5-7 all-time against the Bobcats and 3-4 in San Marcos.
- Little Rock's offense was led by 13 kills from Laura Jansen, who hit .257 on the night with a pair of blocks.
- Veronica Marin added 10 kills and a .391 hitting percentage while adding three blocks to her season total, giving her 97 on the year.
- Mya Robinson finished with nine kills while Maritza Mesa added eight more for the Trojans.
- Taylor Lindberg dished out 24 assists with five kills, a pair of service aces and six digs.
- Belissa Guidotti set a new career-high with six blocks against the Bobcats, leading all players.
- Sydnee Martin finished with 12 digs, followed by nine from Diana Giordani.
Up Next
Little Rock's four-game road swing continues as the Trojans make the three-and-a-half hour trek north to the DFW Metroplex to take on UT Arlington Saturday evening. The Mavericks defeated Arkansas State in five sets Friday night, improving to 8-5 on the season and 2-1 in Sun Belt Conference play. Opening serve in Arlington is set for 6:30 p.m.
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