Trojans fall short in opener at UCA Invitational, will face Sugar Bears tonight

CONWAY — Little Rock ran into a hot opponent Friday morning in the opening match of the UCA Invitational, and was unable to get past Southeastern Louisiana, falling 3-1 at the Prince Center. The unbeaten Lions (4-0) won by scores of 25-21, 25-21, 25-27, and 25-15.
 
Little Rock (2-2) will have little time to reflect on the result as the Trojans take the floor again at 6 pm when they meet Central Arkansas (0-2) in the final contest of the day. The teams meet for the 2025-26 installment of the Governor's I-40 Showdown presented by Arkansas BCBS.
 
Tonight's contest vs UCA will be available for streaming on ESPN+.
 
Against the Lions, Bella Cherry (12), Crismeyli Rodriguez (12), A'lanae Margaritha (9), and Sophia Garrido (7) led the Trojans in kills. Jaycee Kennedy also had four kills and hit a team-best .333 percent. Rodriguez hit .258. Dariana Valencia led the ladies with 20 assists, while Kaylee Smith had 16 assists to go with three aces. 
 
On the defensive side, Andrea Roman paced Little Rock with 22 digs, and Cherry added 10. Rodriguez had a team-high five blocks and Margaritha added three.