Little Rock Falls in Four to Texas State

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Laura Jansen recorded her 30^th career double-double, Zanobia Willis hit .333 but Little Rock dropped a back-and-forth match at Texas State, 3-1, Friday night in San Marcos.
 
Set scores were 25-19, 25-13, 24-26 and 25-21 as Little Rock (14-12, 5-9 Sun Belt) became just the second team to win a set off Texas State (15-11, 11-2) in the past month.
 
Trailing 2-0 in the match and 19-17 in the third set, Little Rock rallied off five straight points on a run that included two Willis blocks and an Alyssa Nayar ace. Texas State battled back to regain the lead at 24-23 but the Trojans wisely utilized a timeout, which set up a Willis kill to tie the set at 24-24 and force extra points for the 12^th time this season. Victoria Cavalcanti and Nedima Kamberovic combined for a block to regain the lead for Little Rock before an attack error sealed the set win for the Trojans.
 
The fourth set had the same scenario but the script was flipped as it was Texas State that used a 5-0 run to regain the lead late in the set at 23-19. Laura Jansen put down a kill to pull the Trojans within two at 23-21 but back-to-back Janelle Fitzgerald kills sealed the match for the West Division-leading Bobcats.
 
Fitzgerald led all players with 18 kills while Kayla Granado added 23 digs. Tyeranee Scott posted 10 kills and 10 blocks (two solo) for Texas State.
 
Little Rock returns to action Saturday evening in Arlington when the Trojans will face UTA at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
 
Behind the Box Score

• Little Rock was out-hit in the first set, .237 to .073.
• Laura Jansen had four kills in the opening set.
• Little Rock won the third set in extra points on a 3-0 run.
• Zanobia Willis recorded four kills and two blocks in the third set.
• Laura Jansen served up two of her aces in the fourth set.
• The fourth set featured 10 ties and seven lead changes.

 
Leaders by the Numbers
Kills: 12, Laura Jansen
Assists: 23, Alyssa Nayar
Service Aces: 3, Laura Jansen
Digs: 20, Leigh Maher
Blocks: 5, Nicole Medlin
 
Notables

• The 26-24 win in the third set marked the 12^th time this season Little Rock has gone to extra points. The Trojans are 6-6 in those sets.
• With 12 kills and 13 digs, Laura Jansen recorded her 30^th double-double of her career.
• Texas State now leads the all-time series 13-5.
• Alyssa Nayar finished the match one dig shy of a double-double.
• Little Rock is 1-5 in four-set matches this season.

 
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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