Trojans suffer first OVC setback, fall to USI

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Little Rock suffered its first conference loss of the season Friday night, falling in four sets to Southern Indiana at Liberty Arena. The Trojans (11-8, 6-1 OVC) lost by scores of 25-20, 25-7, 20-25, and 25-23. The teams will meet again tomorrow at 2 p.m.
 
"We were very timid in the first two sets, not nearly aggressive enough. It got better in the last two sets, and we ran a better offense … a bit more competitive, by then it was a little too late," head coach Van Compton said. "We have to come out in the right mindset tomorrow and get our offense going early, be better on our serve receive so we're not constantly out of system. We have a target on our backs, so we have to have the correct mentality to beat teams like this."
 
The result knocked Little Rock from the top spot in the Ohio Valley Conference while Southern Indiana (8-11, 4-3) climbed into the top half of the table. The Trojans end the day a game behind Morehead State.
 
Bella Cherry led the attack with 12 kills and added 15 digs, A'lanae Margaritha added 11 kills to go with six blocks, and Crismeyli Rodriguez put up nine kills along with 16 digs. Sophia Garrido finished with eight kills and three blocks.
 
Dariana Valencia led the team with 25 assists with 17 digs, Kaylee Smith had 16 assists and 10 digs, and Andrea Roman led the Trojans with 19 digs. Avery Fearnley also had three blocks for the Trojans.