Trojans attack falls short in loss to Western Illinois

MACOMB, Illinois — Hitting errors made the difference in Friday's conference match Friday night, as Little Rock committed twice as many as host Western Illinois, which earned a 3-1 victory over the Trojans at Western Hall. Little Rock (4-12 overall, 1-4 OVC) struggled with 30 attacking errors while the Leathernecks (4-11, 3-2) had just 16 and outhit the Trojans with a .260 percentage to just .137 for the visitors.

Little Rock fell behind by two sets, hitting just .152 and .029 in those frames, then bounced back to take the third set on .264 percent hitting, before falling in the fourth, when the Trojans posted a .048 percentage. Meanwhile, Western Illinois was above .200 in all four sets.

Carolina Rodriguez was a bright spot for Little Rock, hitting .378 percent with a career-high 16 kills. Daedrianna Cail and Sophia Garrido each finished with 11 kills. Dariana Valencia finished with another double-double (22 assists and 11 digs) while Kaylee Smith had 17 assists. Jeila Fullerton (12) and Andrea Roman (17) also reached double figures in digs. Cail and Garrido each had three blocks.

Little Rock will look to take a split against the Leathernecks when the teams meet Saturday at 2 pm. The match will be available on ESPN+.