Little Rock battles past New Mexico State as Rodriguez hammers 20 kills

TULSA, Okla. — Little Rock battled its way through a grueling four sets Friday to put away New Mexico State in the opening match of the Tulsa Invitational at the Donald W. Reynolds Center. The Trojans (4-6) bounced back from a tough opening set loss to take the next three and drop the Aggies (7-5) by scores of 29-31, 25-19, 25-23, and 25-23.
 
In a match that lasted two hours and 28 minutes while featuring 40 tie scores and 22 lead changes, senior Crismeyli Rodriguez – one day shy of her 21^st birthday – turned in the best performance of her career with a single match best 20 kills, 14 digs, and an attack percentage of .409. Her previous high for kills was 16.
 
Bella Cherry (20 digs, 11 kills, three blocks) and Dariana Valencia (21 assists, 15 digs) also turned in double-doubles for Little Rock. A'lanae Margaritha finished with 11 kills, three blocks, and hit .348 for the Trojans. Sophia Garrido finished with six kills, and Jaycee Kennedy hit .333 while turning in a team-high seven blocks.
 
Andrea Roman had 18 digs to go with eight assists, Kaylee Smith finished with 17 assists, and Grazia D'Amore had three blocks for the Trojan defense.
 
Tomorrow the Trojans will play twice, opening the day at 4 pm against Oral Roberts (0-9) and wrapping up at 7 pm versus host Tulsa (9-2). The match with Tulsa will be available on ESPN+.