Trojans Fall in Five-Set Heartbreaker

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Laura Jansen was pivotal for the Trojans in Friday's series opener against Louisiana. All she did was set or tie career-highs in kills (23), service aces (3) and digs (22) on her way to her fifth career double-double. But the Herculean effort by the Netherlands native wouldn't be enough in a heart-breaking 3-2 series opening loss.
 
FINAL | Louisiana 3, Little Rock 2 | 37-35, 25-21, 15-25, 23-25, 15-13 | Box Score | PDF | Photo Gallery
 
The host Trojans (0-2, 0-1 Sun Belt) at times seemed unstoppable and even posted numbers worthy of a win. Little Rock registered more kills (81-74), a better hitting percentage (.326 to .284), more service aces (8-4) and digs (92-85) than the visiting Ragin' Cajuns (7-0, 1-0). Even Leigh Maher, the reigning Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week, was on another level with a career-high 35 digs, the most of any Sun Belt player this young season.
 
But a young Little Rock team committed two errors in the final three points of the match while nine service errors also didn't do the Trojans any favors.
 
Jansen wasn't the only Trojan to record career-high marks. Nedima Kamberovic (16 kills), Nejra Hanic (16 kills, .359 pct) and Alyssa Nayar (31 assists) all surpassed their previous career bests in the match.
 
Hali Wisnoski led the Ragin' Cajuns (7-0, 1-0) with 27 kills to remain perfect on the year.
 
Behind the Box Score

• Little Rock's Laura Jansen and Louisiana's Kelsey Bennett each had eight kills in the opening set.
• Leigh Maher registered 16 digs in the first set alone.
• Maher led all players with eight digs in the second set.
• Hali Wisnoskie put down eight kills in the second set.
• Little Rock had six different players register multiple kills in the third set.
• Laura Jansen posted seven kills in the fourth set and seven kills in the fifth set.

 
Leaders by the Numbers
Kills: 23, Laura Jansen
Assists: 31, Alyssa Nayar, Nathalia Vigineski
Service Aces: 3, Laura Jansen
Digs: 36, Leigh Mayor
Blocks: 3, Laura Jansen
 
Notables

• The win marked Louisiana's 14^th win in 53 tries against Little Rock.
• Laura Jansen (23 kills, 22 digs) marked her fifth career double-double and first of the season.
• Nedima Kamberovic recorded a career-high 16 kills.
• Alyssa Nayar registered a career-best 31 assists.
• Little Rock hit over .300 as a team and lost for the first time since Sept. 30, 2016 at home against Louisiana (L, 3-2).
• Freshman Nejra Hanic posted season-best marks of 16 kills and .359 hitting percentage.
• The 35 points scored by Little Rock in the opening set are believed to be the most points scored in a single set by the Trojans in the 25-point era.

 
For the latest information on Little Rock Volleyball, make sure to check out LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockVB on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
 
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