Little Rock stands tall in first defeat, falls to Wichita State in four

 
FAYETTEVILLE — After a physically and emotionally-taxing opening day at the Wooo Pig Invitational, the second day saw the Little Rock Volleyball team finally suffer defeat. The Trojans (5-1) didn't exactly go easy in defeat before Wichita State prevailed in four grueling sets with scores of 25-19, 25-22, 21-25, and 25-19.
 
Sunday's final contest at Barnhill Arena will pit Little Rock against their toughest opponent yet – the 21^st-ranked and unbeaten Arkansas Razorbacks (6-0) at 2 pm, and will be available to stream live on SECN+.
 

"It was a great experience for us to go up against a team of their caliber (Top 100 RPI). Their size across the front was a major factor in the match but we're proud of our team for competing and making them earn the win." — Little Rock head coach Van Compton 

 
Bella Cherry led the Trojans' attack with 13 kills and A'lanae Margaritha recorded her first double-digit kill outing for Little Rock with 10 kills to go with six digs and three blocks. Jeila Fullerton and Sophia Garrido each finished with eight kills and Kaila Harris added five. Dariana Valencia had a team-high 25 assists, Kaylee Smith added 13 and Andrea Roman had five.
 
Roman was big defensively as well, leading with team with 19 digs, with Harris and Rylee McClintock each adding six. Fullerton had a season-high six blocks and Vivian Lucumi added three. Little Rock limited Wichita State to .226 hitting, forcing 26 errors on attack. Top scorers for the match were Cherry (13.5 points), Margaritha (12.5) and Fullerton (12.5).