Sunday, October 16
Little Rock Earns Comeback Win Over UL Lafayette
LAFAYETTE, La. – Down 2-0 for the match entering the third set, Little Rock volleyball (8-13, 4-4 Sun Belt) overcame the deficit with a five-set comeback win (16-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-17, 17-15) over Louisiana (7-15, 3-4 Sun Belt) on Sunday afternoon at Earl K. Long Gymnasium.
Edina Selimovic led the Trojan offense with a match-high 16 kills and a match-high .448 hitting percentage. Marina Avram recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 15 kills and a career-high 19 digs. Avram hit .312 for the match with no errors on 48 swings. Taylor Lindberg tallied her second consecutive double-double with 44 assists and 16 digs. Carolee Dillard was the match's top blocker as she put up six total (three solo and three assisted) while also putting down 12 kills.
"I'm really proud of this team," head coach Van Compton said. "They worked hard and were determined to win after starting the match down two sets."
With the match tied 2-2 entering the fifth set, the Trojans started the frame with a 6-3 deficit before tying the Cajuns with two kills and a Louisiana attack error. Tied at nine, Louisiana claimed match point with a 5-1 run at 14-10. After a Dillard kill and a block by Selimovic and Miona Milovanovic, the Cajuns called timeout with a 14-12 lead. After the timeout, Selimovic and Milovanovic put up another block and the Cajuns hit a long error to tie set at 14. Louisiana earned match point once again on a Trojan service error, but Little Rock wasn't finished. A block by Selimovic and Milovanovic tied the frame at 15 before Selimovic put down the go-ahead kill. With Little Rock's first match point, Avram put down her 15th kill of the match to hand Louisiana the five-set loss. Little Rock hit .346 for the set — its best of the match.
Tied at 14 halfway through the fourth set, Little Rock went on a 9-2 run to take a 23-16 lead before Louisiana responded with a kill. The Trojans finished off the Cajuns with a Louisiana attack error and a Selimovic kill to tie the match at 2-2 and force a fifth set. The Trojans hit .333 for the frame.
The third set started tight as both teams remained tied at 7-7, but Louisiana rattled off four consecutive points to take an 11-7 lead. After going down by five points at 13-8, Little Rock tied the set at 16 with an 8-3 run. Both squads remained inseparable as the two remained tied at 22. After kills by Milovanovic and Selimovic gave the Trojans set point, the Cajuns called their final timeout. Louisiana got a kill out of the timeout, but Little Rock put the set away with a Selimovic kill. The Trojans hit .300 for the set.
Little Rock got off to a blazing start in the second set with a 6-1 run, forcing an early Louisiana timeout. The Cajuns brought the Trojans' lead down to three at 7-4, but the Trojans responded by taking a six-point lead at 11-5. Louisiana took its first lead of the set at 17-16 on a kill before going up 20-17. After Little Rock called timeout, the Trojans scored three consecutive points on a Dillard/Lindberg block, a Cajun attack error and a Dillard kill. The Cajuns then called their final timeout as the Trojans tied the set at 20. From there, it was a race to see who could score five points first. Louisiana took the lead out of the timeout and never lost control as it grabbed the set with a 5-2 run.
The Trojans started the match with a 5-2 lead, but the Cajuns got hot and took a 13-point lead at 19-6. Little Rock finally got a small run going and brought the set back to single-digits at 19-10 with four consecutive points. Louisiana earned set point at 24-13 with a Little Rock service error, but the Trojans put up three straight points to force a Cajuns timeout. Out of the timeout, Louisiana took the set with a kill. Avram led the Trojans with four kills and a .400 hitting percentage on 10 attempts.
Milovanovic ended the match with seven kills and four block assists. Hope Larmour scooped up 11 digs, tallied her first career kill and had two aces. Kelsey Leech had 10 digs and an ace while Sydnee Martin had nine digs. Veronica Marin put down three kills while Daisha Gillard tallied two.
In each of the last three sets, Little Rock hit .300 or better and ended the match with a .275 hitting percentage. The Trojans also outblocked the Cajuns 12-5.
The Trojans' last five-set win after being down 2-0 came in 2013 against Georgia State in Little Rock.
Little Rock now has a two-match winning streak as it returns home to face Troy and South Alabama beginning on Friday at the Jack Stephens Center. The Trojans will hold their annual Dig Pink match on Saturday against South Alabama.
@stAteVolleyball Stifles ULM Offense in Sweep
MONROE, La. (10/16/16) – The Arkansas State volleyball team held ULM to a .052 hitting percentage, the second lowest by an opponent this season, as the Red Wolves swept the Warhawks 3-0 (25-11, 25-15, 25-14) Sunday afternoon at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
A-State (15-7, 7-1 SBC) hit .290 to counter the low percentage by ULM (8-17, 2-5 SBC) with the .052 mark representing the lowest an opponent has hit against the Red Wolves since Northwestern State’s .042 percentage in the season opener on Aug. 26.
Carlisa May led the team with 12 kills on a .500 hitting percentage, while Jessica Uke added seven on a .583 attacking mark. Mallory Warrington had her team-best ninth double-double with 32 assists and 12 digs, while Lindsay Cline led the team with 15 digs. Jessica Heuertz had two service aces and Anna Murphy tallied three blocks.
“This was a total team win today,” A-State head volleyball coach David Rehr said. “We were solid in all aspects of the game and really played well. We’re ready to come back home for three straight matches in the Convocation Center.”
The Red Wolves opened the match with a dominating set one win 25-11 that featured May registering six kills on six attempts and A-State hitting .414 to a -.107 mark for the Warhawks. Arkansas State went ahead 11-5 to force a ULM timeout and was ahead 18-11 before ending the set on a 7-0 run to earn the win in game one.
The second set was more competitive early with A-State earning a 7-5 edge, but the Red Wolves were able to gain a 16-11 advantage to force a ULM timeout later in the game. The visitors took a 10-point advantage at 23-13 on an Uke kill and closed the set with two of the next four points for a 25-15 set win.
The two teams battled to a 7-7 tie in set three with A-State using a 7-2 run to create some separation at 14-9. The Red Wolves didn’t slow down after a timeout and took a 20-13 advantage on a Drew Jones kill. The visitors closed the set on a 5-1 run, capped by a block by Murphy and May, to earn a 25-14 set win and 3-0 match sweep.
Arkansas State returns to the Convocation Center for three straight home matches beginning with South Alabama Friday, Oct. 21. First serve is set for 6 p.m.
PANTHERS TOP TROJANS TO IMPROVE TO .500 IN SBC PLAY
TROY, Ala. – Georgia State defeated Troy in its second and final match of the weekend. Head coach Sally Polhamus and the Panthers improve to 4-4 in the SBC and 8-11 overall. Troy falls to 0-7 in the Sun Belt and 6-18 overall.
The Panthers jumped out to a 12-5 lead in the opening frame and were able to keep their distance from the Trojans behind Kristina Stinson’s six kills. Troy responded nicely and went up 20-12 in the second set. The Panthers went on a 10-2 run, but the Trojans tied the match at one set apiece with a 25-22 victory.
From there, senior Eliza Zachary and the Panther offense got going to take the next two sets with scores of 25-17 and 25-23.
Stinson led the way with 22 kills on the day and Anna Rantala added another 11 kills to propel the Panthers to victory. Zachary added another nine kills of her own to help balance the offensive attack.
Sophomore setter Sarah Renner ran the offense effectively with 42 assists and Celeste Friesen spearheaded the defensive effort with 13 kills. Rantala’s play carried the Panthers down the stretch against a never-say-die Trojan team. GSU managed to register 14 blocks on the day with Zachary, Rantala and Shae Chapman accounting for 17 block assists.
For Troy, Logan Page and Sara Landis led the Trojan offense with 19 combined kills. Bethany Cullity racked up 17 digs and Reina Terry contributed 18 assists on the afternoon.
After the match, head coach Sally Polhamus spoke highly of her team’s toughness to continue battling until the end. She also stressed the importance of earning a conference win on the road before a four-match home stand.
The Panthers will begin the home stand with Texas State and UT Arlington next weekend inside the GSU Sports Arena. Both matches start at 6 p.m.
Chants Win Consecutive Matches Versus App State
CONWAY - The Coastal Carolina volleyball team completed its weekend sweep of Appalachian State on Sunday as the Chants topped the Mountaineers in four sets (25-15, 22-25, 25-13, 25-13) at the HTC Center in the team's annual Dig Pink match.
Friday's and Sunday's wins against Appalachian State extends Coastal's winning streak to five matches -- its longest of the season -- and improves its season record to 15-4, 6-1. The Mountaineers, meanwhile, fall to 2-18 overall and remain winless in the Sun Belt at 0-7.
Leah Hardeman and Tahleia Bishop combined for 36 of Coastal's 60 total kills, the former putting down 19 and the latter 17. Hardeman also added a .432 hitting percentage, second only to the .467 effort of Natasa Savovic who tallied eight kills on 15 attempts.
As a team the Chants turned in their second best serving effort of the season with 10 total aces. Hardeman led the way with four, while Savovic and Sara Boothe each added a pair.
The Chants dominated the opening set with a .289 hitting percentage and five service aces. Coastal led the set from start to finish, and led by as many as eight points in the game after jumping out to an early 13-5 lead.
App State responded with a .344 hitting percentage in the second set and led for the majority of the frame, though Coastal staged a late comeback and threatened to overtake the Mountaineers. Facing a five-point deficit, the Chants battled back to trail by just a point, 21-20, before the Mountaineers claimed five of the seven points to even the match at 1-1.
Hardeman and Alise Petersone led Coastal with six and five kills, respectively, in the third frame to help the Chants recapture the match lead. Coastal grabbed a quick 7-2 lead then used a 10-4 run to build an insurmountable 11-point advantage.
The lead changed hands just twice in the early stages of the final set, but the Mountaineers could not overcome a .462 Chanticleer hitting percentage as Coastal easily finished off the match by a 12-point margin. A 5-5 tie was broken by a kill from Savovic -- her first of four in the set -- that started an impressive 12-2 Coastal run.
The Chants remain at home for their next pair of matches, beginning with a 6:30 p.m. meeting against UL Lafayette on Friday evening at the HTC Center.