LAFAYETTE, LA. – Little Rock rallied to take the opening set, then forced extra points in set two, but Louisiana took control in sets three and four to had the Trojans a 25-23, 24-26, 20-25, 15-25 loss Saturday evening at Earl K. Long Gym.
Little Rock was led by 17 kills from
Laura Jansen and 15 from
Nedima Kamberovic as the Trojans hit .156 for the match. But Louisiana held the advantage with a .267 hitting percentage on the night, committing just 16 errors compared to the 28 for Little Rock.
Jansen's 17 kills came on 61 attempts with six errors for a .180 hitting percentage, as she registered another double-double, finishing with 19 digs. Kamberovic hit .184, getting her 15 kills on 38 attempts.
Nejra Hanic nearly became the third Trojan to reach double-digit kills, finishing with nine.
Zanobia Willis added six kills and
Laure Jansen posted five kills with 11 digs.
Nathalia Vigineski dished out 28 assists with seven digs with
Alyssa Nayar had 19 assits with seven digs herself.
Leigh Maher led all players with 31 digs through four sets.
Louisiana also asserted itself defensively at the net, blocking 15 Little Rock attempts, compared to just five for the Trojans.
Nicole Medlin led the way with four, including a pair of solo stops.
Set one started out competitively as both teams exchanged points, combining for 10 ties and three lead changes in the early going. The Ragin' Cajuns built a five point cushion at 19-14 and appeared to take control of the set, but Little Rock rallied to outscore Louisiana 11-4 down the stretch to take the opener.
Set two was similar to the first as the two teams exchanged points for the duration with neither team leading by more than three. Little Rock began to pull away late in the set, building a 24-22 lead and serving for set point. But Louisiana rattled off four unanswered points to steal the second 26-24, evening the match at 1-1.
The late rally by Louisiana turned momentum in the Ragin' Cajuns favor over the final two sets. Louisiana raced out to a 10-point lead in set three at 19-9, but Little Rock was able to claw to within two at 22-20 before the Cajuns closed it out with the 25-20 victory. In set four, the two teams were tied at 10-10 after first 20 points, but Louisiana outscored Little Rock 15-5, including an 8-1 run to close out the set, taking the match at 3-1.
Little Rock now returns home for a pair of weekend matches against their Lone Star state foes, beginning with a 6 p.m. opening serve against Texas State on Friday. The match against the Bobcats marks Little Rock's Pink Match for the 2021 season, raising funds in the fight against breast cancer.
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