COMMERCE, Texas — As if Friday's doubleheader sweep wasn't sweet enough, the Little Rock Volleyball team poured a little more sugar on the weekend with a sweep of rival Central Arkansas on Saturday to finish 3-0 at the Lion Invitational, hosted by Texas A&M-Commerce.
Little Rock (3-0) snapped a four-match losing streak against the Sugar Bears and matched their best start since 2018 with a sweep of all three matches in Texas. The straight-set sweep of UCA was hardly easy, but the Trojans displayed a characteristic they sorely missed last year – the ability to close. Little Rock swept with scores of 25-20, 25-23, 25-23.
Â
"The last time we beat UCA was in 2019, so this was a very good win for us, especially on the road. I'm proud of the team for playing with such high energy and urgency."
– Little Rock head coach Van Compton
Â
Jeila Fullerton posted her third double-double of the season, leading the team with both 11 kills and 10 digs to go with three blocks.
Bella Cherry had nine kills and two blocks, while
Kaila Harris and
Sophia Garrido each had seven kills, helping Little Rock finish the contest with a .260 attacking percentage.
Dariana Valencia (7 digs, 2 aces) and
Kaylee Smith (4 digs) each finished with 16 assists.
Defensively,
A'lanae Margaritha recorded six blocks – five in the third set – and added five kills.
Andrea Roman filled the stat sheet with nine digs, six assists, and three aces. Little Rock limited UCA to just .198 hitting, forcing 20 attacking errors.
Â
Little Rock will be back in action next weekend at the Wooo Pig Invitational, hosted by the University of Arkansas from Sept. 6-8. The Trojans will face Rutgers on Friday, Louisiana Tech and Wichita State on Saturday, and finish Sunday against the host team, 19
th-ranked Arkansas.
Â
