CONWAY, Ark. – Little Rock and Central Arkansas staged a five-set thriller in its inaugural Governor's I-40 Showdown matchup with the Trojans rallying from a 2-1 deficit to force the decisive fifth set. But the Sugar Bears edged out the Trojans with the final two points of the match, taking set five 16-14 to claim the 3-2 victory at the Farris Center.
The win for Central Arkansas gives the Bears three points in the Governor's I-40 Showdown standings, holding a 4.5-1.5 lead after two events in the inaugural year of the rivalry series.
Little Rock gained the early momentum in set one, using a 14-3 run to break open a 22-8 lead in the first set, cruising to the 25-13 victory. The Trojans hit .370 in the opening set while holding Central Arkansas to a .030 percentage, registering 13 kills with just three errors.
In what would prove to be the pivotal second set, Little Rock and UCA exchanged points for the majority of the set before the Sugar Bears opened up a four-point cushion at 17-13. The Trojans slowly chipped away, eventually reclaiming the lead at 22-21 and were serving for set point at 24-23. But Little Rock couldn't get the final point it needed as Central Arkansas reeled off the final three points to secure the 26-24 victory.
UCA responded with a 25-21 decision in set three despite four blocks and just a pair of attack errors for the Trojans, putting itself in the driver's seat with a 2-1 lead. But Little Rock once again found its groove in set four, using an 8-1 run late to claim the 25-18 victory and force the decisive fifth set.
The Sugar Bears reclaimed the early momentum on its home court early in set five, racing out to a 7-2 lead and forcing a Trojan timeout. Again, Little Rock slowly began chipping away at the deficit, using a 4-1 run to pull even at 12-12.
After a pair of points, Central Arkansas was serving for match point at 14-12, but was denied twice by the Trojans off a kill from
Taylor Lindberg and an attack error as Little Rock pulled even at 14-14. But the comeback against the reigning Southland Conference tournament champions came up just short as UCA notched the final two points of the set to secure the 3-2 victory.
Inside the Stats
- As a team, Little Rock outhit Central Arkansas .289 to .200, finishing with 12 total blocks (compared to five for UCA).
- Mya Robinson and Laura Jansen paced the Trojans with a season-high 16 kills each on the night as Robinson added 16 digs for her first double-double of the season.
- Taylor Lindberg notched a double-double as well for Little Rock and nearly posted a triple-double, finishing with 11 kills and 34 assists while registering nine digs with a pair of blocks.
- With her 34 assists on the night, Lindberg now has 2,441 career helpers, moving her into third-place all-time in the Trojan record book.
- Carol Barbosa added 12 kills with four blocks defensively.
- Veronica Marin and Maritza Mesa paced the Trojans' front line as Marin notched a match-high eight blocks and was complemented by Mesa's five blocks. The duo also combined for 13 total kills with seven coming from Marin with just one attack error.
- Pamela Zuluaga was the third Trojan to register a double-double, recording 20 assists with 14 digs.
- Sydnee Martin led the way on the back row with 22 digs, upping her career total to 1,118.
Up Next
Little Rock returns to Conway on Friday afternoon to continue its involvement in the UCA Invitational with another showdown against an in-state rival. The Trojans will square off with Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 3:30 p.m. Friday afternoon at the Farris Center.
#LittleRocksTeam
