Volleyball Falls to UALR

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - UALR snapped a two game losing streak with a dominating 30-24, 30-28, 30-26 victory over Middle Tennessee in the home opener for the Trojans at the Trojan Fieldhouse.

UALR (10-6, 1-1 Sun Belt) looked sluggish at the beginning of the match, falling behind the Lady Raiders (7-11, 0-3 Sun Belt) 12-8 in game one. The Trojans rallied and took the lead for good at 18-17 on an Ivana Vracar kill and cruised the rest of the game to a 30-24 win.

UALR was in control the entire second game, a Vracar ace gave the Trojans an early 10-3 lead. Middle Tennessee trailed 26-20 when head coach Lisa Kissee called a timeout that sparked a late rally. The Lady Raiders would tie the game at 27-27 when UALR head coach Van Compton countered with a timeout to stop the rally. The Trojans would close the game on a 3-1 run to clinch the game.

UALR again took command of the third game, opening up a 15-6 lead on an ace from Maialla Hurga. Middle Tennessee then rallied to tie the game, Goldie Bilyeu would hold serve during an 8-0 run for the Lady Raiders to tie the game at 16-16, and had the Trojans on the ropes with a 19-17 lead. An attack error by Dara McLean gave the UALR the lead for good at 23-22, Kuzmic's solo block clinched the match with a 30-26 win in game three.

Head coach Van Compton and the team was glad to finally play a home match after opening with 15 matches on the road, posting an 8-2 record on a neutral floor and going 1-4 playing on their opponents home floor.

"We were glad to be home after spending the first five weeks of the on the road, the team really seemed to have a good time out there, I think we were just tired of playing on the road," Compton said. "We did many things better tonight, we were aggressive, we played as a team and were very enthusiastic. We also served and blocked well tonight."

UALR registered nine aces to just one for Middle Tennessee and also out blocked the Lady Raiders 10 to 7.

KeKe Deckard led Middle Tennessee with 15 kills, Kimberly Moeller and Victoria Monasterolo each added a team-high nine digs.

UALR was led by Larisa Durmisevic with 19 kills, Vracar added 14 kills and three aces. Randi Salis added a match-high 12 digs.

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