Rodriguez sparks Trojans to reverse sweep of Tennessee Tech in Nashville

NASHVILLE, Tennessee — For the second straight day, Little Rock found a way to stare defeat in the face and escape victorious. Yesterday, the Trojans battled back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Tennessee State in five sets. Today, Little Rock came back from a 2-0 hole to complete the reverse sweep of the host Tigers and complete a series sweep in a true "all hands" effort.
 
The Trojans (12-10 overall, 7-2 OVC) have now won four straight games and will be on the road next weekend when they head east again to face Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, Tenn. Like Friday's win, Little Rock got solid contributions from its starting lineup. But for an added boost Saturday, several players off the bench added critical performances.
 
Crismeyli Rodriguez hammered a career-high 16 kills behind .433 attacking to lead the offense, Jaycee Kennedy tied her previous career-high with eight blocks to go with five kills, and Polianna Hernandez returned from injury to add seven kills and five digs. Little Rock swung for a season-high 69 kills as a team, hitting .228 in the contest with Rodriguez, Kennedy (.273) and Jeila Fullerton (.267) all exceeding the .250 mark. Kaylee Smith led the Trojans with a career-high of her own, putting up 30 assists.
 
Tennessee State (5-16, 1-7) was unable to climb out of last place in the OVC standings despite opening with wins of 29-27 and 25-22 in the first two sets. Little Rock – still in third place behind SEMO (6-1) and Lindenwood (8-1) – responded with a 25-17 win in the third set, then hit .419 in a 25-16 fourth set victory, before closing out the match 15-13 in the fifth.
 
Fullerton (16 kills, 14 digs), Smith (13 digs) Dariana Valencia (27 assists, 11 digs), and Bella Cherry (11 kills, 10 digs) all posted double-doubles. Andrea Roman tallied a team-high 26 digs with seven assists and three aces, A'lanae Margaritha totaled six kills, three blocks and three aces while Fullerton (6) and Cherry (4) also contributed with blocks.
 
Little Rock's four-game conference win streak equals its longest since joining the OVC in 2022. The Trojans ended the 2023 regular season with four straight conference wins to qualify for the eighth and final spot in the OVC tournament. After playing two at Tennessee Tech next weekend, the Trojans return home Tuesday, Oct. 29 to host SEMO and end the week with a pair at home against Western Illinois on Nov. 1-2.