ARLINGTON, Texas – Little Rock held a 2-1 lead in the match and had a convincing advantage in the fifth set, but a furious UT Arlington rally did in the Trojans as Little Rock dropped a 25-22, 21-25, 25-16, 22-25, 13-15 five-set decision to the Mustangs. The loss drops Little Rock to 10-7 on the season and 2-2 in Sun Belt Conference play.
The loss came despite another impressive effort from
Veronica Marin, who notched her fourth double-double of the year with a 16-kill, 12-block performance while hitting .471.
Maritza Mesa added 17 kills for the Trojans who hit .147 on the night and held a 16-7 edge on UT Arlington (9-5, 3-1 Sun Belt) in blocks.
After falling behind by three midway through the opening set, Little Rock responded with an 11-3 run, turning a 14-11 deficit in to a 22-17 advantage. The Trojans were able to hold off a late Mustang rally, taking the opener 25-22 behind four kills each from Mesa and
Mya Robinson and four kills from Marin.
Set two was nearly a mirror opposite of the first as Little Rock held a 14-11 advantage, only to see UT Arlington flip the script and use a 10-3 run of its own to take a 21-17 lead. The Trojans pulled to within two at 21-19, but were unable to overtake UT Arlington, falling 25-21 in the second.
Little Rock once again held a 14-11 lead in the third set, but this time made sure to keep the Mavericks at bay. The Trojans outscored the home team 11-5 down the stretch, cruising to the 25-16 victory to take a 2-1 lead, paced by five kills from Mesa.
In the fourth, UT Arlington built a comfortable 20-14 lead and appeared poised to run away with the set. Little Rock responded with a 7-1 run, tying the match at 21-21 late, but were never able to get over the hump, falling to the Mavericks 25-22 to force the decisive fifth set.
As the fifth set started, Little Rock carried all the momentum, building a commanding 8-2 lead as the teams switched side. Whatever was working for the Trojans on that side of the court worked for UT Arlington as well as the Mavericks outscored Little Rock 13-5 down the stretch, sealing the win with the 15-13 decision to hand Little Rock its second-straight loss.
Inside the Stats
- Little Rock falls to 12-15 all-time against UT Arlington and are now 7-11 all-time against the Mavericks in Texas.
- This was Little Rock's fifth five-set match this season as the Trojans are 1-4 when the contest heads goes five.
- After Mesa and Marin combined for 33 kills on the night, the rest of the Trojan roster tallied just 20, led by six each from Mya Robinson and Laura Jansen.
- Taylor Lindberg notched another double-double, finishing with 31 assists and 11 digs to complement seven blocks and four kills.
- Diana Giordani led the way with 21 digs defensively and was one of five Trojans to register double-digit dig totals.
- Sydnee Martin added 16 digs and upped her career total to 1,282, sitting 14 digs shy of matching Edina Begic (2011-14) for second all-time in program history.
Looking Ahead
Little Rock's four-match road trip continues next weekend as the Trojans head east to the Carolina for their lone matches of the year against both Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina. The Trojans face the Mountaineers Friday, October 5 in Boone, North Carolina, before taking on the Chanticleers Sunday, October 7 in Conway, South Carolina.
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