Little Rock battles in defeat during Ole Miss finale

OXFORD, Mississippi — Little Rock wrapped up a three-match weekend Sunday with a loss to the host team at the Ole Miss Invitational at the Gillom Athletics Performance Center. The Trojans (5-5) will now shift their focus to their home opener, set for Thursday at 6 pm against Central Arkansas. The two in-state rivals will meet for the second time this season, with this edition as part of the I-40 Governor's Showdown at the Jack Stephens Center.
 
Little Rock has dropped five straight matches after opening the season with five consecutive wins, matching the best start in program history in the process. Sunday's loss to Ole Miss (7-2) was competitive – much more so than Saturday's matches against FGCU and Drake – but unfortunately ended on the wrong side of the tally.
 
Ole Miss never trailed in the first two sets, taking a commanding lead with scores of 25-20 and 25-19. Little Rock battled in the third, tying the score on six occasions before falling 25-18. All-Tournament selection Bella Cherry led the attack with eight kills and a block, while Jeila Fullerton and Sophia Garrido each had seven. Garrido posted a .350 attack percentage with no errors.
 
Dariana Valencia had a team-high 16 assists, Kaylee Smith added 10 and A'lanae Margaritha served up a pair of aces to go with two blocks. Valencia also led the Trojans with seven digs. Little Rock hit .189 for the match but was outdone by the Ole Miss attack, which posted a hitting success rate of .330.