UALR Sweeps South Alabama in Championship Opener

SAN MARCOS, Texas – No. 1 seed UALR jumped out to an early lead in the first set and stormed back in the third to take a 3-0 (25-13, 25-18, 26-24) win over No. 8 seed South Alabama in the opening game of the 2014 Sun Belt Volleyball Championship.

UALR scored the first 5 points of the match and 10 of the first 11 on their way to clinching the first set 25-13. Offensive Player of the Year Edina Begic recorded seven kills in the set for UALR while teammate Sonja Milanovic notched four of her 12 kills to stake the Trojans to an early lead.

South Alabama went up 7-5 in set two, but a kill by Meghan Mathis and a block by Edina Selimovic evened the score. Begic recorded an ace to push the UALR lead to 15-12 later in the set, which was the first time either team was able to gain a three point advantage. With the score 18-15, Milanovic had a kill from the left side and Mathis stuffed a shot at the net to extend the lead as the Trojans pulled away in the second set winning 25-18. Carolee Dillard clinched the game with a lofted kill over the Jaguars block.

South Alabama jumped out to a 7-2 lead in set three punctuated by Emma Anderson winning a duel at the net to push the lead to six. However, Begic and Milanovic responded with emphatic kills to pull the Trojans within one. The Jaguars wouldn’t go away as they pushed the lead back to five with a kill by Mechell Daniel and two attack errors by the Trojans. Milanovic recorded three kills in a five point stretch to bring UALR within two. However, two service aces by Jenna Hassell pushed the Jaguars lead back to five.

After a Trojans timeout, Jenna Hassell responded with a kill from the left side of the attack to push the Jaguars lead to six. However, a block by Adisa Hodzic and Dillard started a string of five straight by the Trojans which included a Begic ace which made the score to 21-20. South Alabama was able to stem the tide on a Symone Stephenson kill to claim a two point lead. The Trojans scored two straight on a service error by Jessica Lewis and a Mechell Daniel attack which hit the pole. Stephenson added another kill to put the Jaguars up 24-23, but UALR scored three straight to clinch the match.

Begic and Milanovic each finished with double-doubles as Begic had 13 kills and 10 digs while Milanovic recorded 12 kills and 11 digs on a .348 hitting percentage. UALAR hit .265 for the match, but won as they were able to force South Alabama into a .010 hitting percentage. The Trojans recorded 10 blocks as a team. Selimovic had one solo block and five block assists while Dillard and Hodzic each record four block assists. UALR’s Megan Mathis finished with 30 assists while Anderson and Emily Hundt combined for 21 on the Jaguars side. Hassell led the Jaguars with 10 digs while Lewis and Daniel each finished with a team-high six kills.

UALR will advance to the semifinals of the Sun Belt Volleyball Championship which will take place at 4 p.m. (CT) on Friday, November 28th. They will take on the winner of the first round matchup between No. 4 UT Arlington and No. 5 Appalachian State which is today at 2:30 p.m. (CT).