MARTIN, Tenn. — The argument could be made that Little Rock's straight set win Thursday had something to do with UT Martin not playing for the previous 12 days. But after completing a series sweep of the Skyhawks in Tennessee, there's no arguing left. The Trojans will enter the final series of the regular season with a chance to secure a spot in the OVC Conference Championship.
Little Rock (9-18, 6-10 OVC) finished off a series sweep of the Skyhawks on Friday by scores of 25-23, 26-28, 25-17, and 25-22, setting up what should be a "win-and-your-in" series with SIUE next week at the Jack Stephens Center. SIUE is 6-9 in conference play with one match to play Saturday against first-place Eastern Illinois.
UT Martin (9-18, 6-10) fell into a tie for ninth which should turn out to be a three-way tie for eighth when the weekend results are finished. But the Trojans now hold a very important tiebreaker against the Skyhawks by way of the series victory.
Bella Cherry posted a second straight 13-kill game, Darian Valencia recorded her 10
th double-double of the season (15 assists, 12 digs) and
Kaylee Smith added 15 assists with nine digs.
Jeila Fullerton had 14 digs to go with eight kills, three aces and three blocks,
Andrea Roman had a team-high 17 digs, and
Daedrianna Cail put up seven kills and four blocks.
Little Rock hit .333 in the opening set and .325 in the fourth, saving the best for last with 16 kills in the clinching frame. The Trojans were able to win the third set despite hitting in the negative, largely in part to a long list of UT Martin errors. The Skyhawks committed 20 errors in the third set alone.
Little Rock will host SIUE on Wednesday and Thursday with both matches beginning at 6 pm.
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