Little Rock to host Eastern Illinois in matchup of second place teams

Little Rock returns home this weekend with a battle for sole possession of second place in the Ohio Valley Conference on deck. The Trojans meet Eastern Illinois at the Jack Stephens Center with matches scheduled for 6:00 pm Friday and 2:00 pm Saturday.
 
GAME INFO
Who: Little Rock (11-9, 6-2 OVC) vs Eastern Illinois (12-6, 6-2)
When: 6 pm Friday and 2 pm Saturday
Where: Jack Stephens Center
Video: ESPN+
Stats: LRTrojans.com
 
SERIES HISTORY
• Little Rock trails in the all-time series, 8-1.
• The Trojans are 0-2 all-time at home against EIU.
• Little Rock won the most recent meeting, snapping an eight-game losing streak in the series.
 
COACH SPEAK
"We've got our work cut out for us the rest of the conference schedule, and that starts this weekend against an outstanding Eastern Illinois team. We've put last weekend behind us and are focusing on the challenge ahead, and I know our team will be ready." – head coach Van Compton
 
TROJAN REPORT
• Little Rock ranks among the top teams in the OVC in several categories, including opponents' hitting percentage (1st), team digs (3rd), team kills (3rd), team assists (3rd), and team blocks (5th). Roman is the OVC individual leader in total digs and second in digs per set, while Margaritha is the OVC leader in hitting percentage. The Trojans rank 32nd nationally in opponents' hitting percentage.
 
• Senior outside hitter Crismeyli Rodriguez surpassed 250 career kills last weekend at Southern Indiana. She ranks second on the team this season with 178 total kills. 
 
• A'lanae Margaritha is on pace to have one of the most efficient seasons the program has seen for hitting percentage. Currently at .340, which ranks as the 6th-best single-season mark in program history. She is the all-time program leader for career hitting percentage at .326. 
 
• Senior middle blocker Jaycee Kennedy surpassed a pair of milestones last weekend, hitting 250 career kills as well as 250 career blocks. Kennedy is 39 blocks shy of #10 all-time in the program record book and leads the OVC with 79 blocks this season. 
 
• Andrea Roman is hunting down the top spot in program history for career digs, currently ranking 3rd with 1318. She is just 307 digs shy of taking over the top spot. Roman currently ranks 14th nationally in digs per set and 13th in total digs. 
 
• Little Rock got out to its best start in conference play since the 2014 season. The Trojans started 6-0 in the OVC, which is also the longest conference winning streak since 2014, when Little Rock finished 20-0 in the Sun Belt Conference.