Little Rock sweeps North Alabama to open 2018 season
Little Rock Athletics
Tyler Morrison, Associate Director of Communications
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – For the first time since 2008, Little Rock volleyball was victorious in its season opener as it defeated Division I newcomer North Alabama 3-0 (25-10, 25-18, 25-9) on Friday morning at Kennamer Gym on the campus of Jacksonville State.
Sophomore Mya Robinson was the only player to record double-digit kills as she ended the match with 13 while hitting .476 with six digs and an ace. Taylor Lindberg had 26 assists with seven digs and three kills while Pamela Zuluagahad 11 assists and five digs. Carol Barbosa had a match-high .727 hitting percentage with eight kills on 11 attempts and added five total blocks. Sydnee Martin had a match-high 11 digs and led the match with three service aces. Freshman Lauren Jansen tied Barbosa for the most total blocks with five as she also put down six kills.
North Alabama’s Christina Ellwanger led the Lions with seven of the team’s 17 kills and hit a team-high .029 hitting percentage.
Little Rock took the first set with ease at 25-10 as it hit .571 with 14 kills on 21 attacks. Robinson came out swinging with six kills and hit .444 for the frame. Running the newly implemented 6-2 offense, Lindberg tallied eight assists while Zuluaga had three. Jansen and Barbosa each had two total blocks as Little Rock held the Lions to a -.043 hitting percentage.
The Trojans clicked once again the second set as they tallied a 25-18 win. Little Rock hit .314 while holding North Alabama to a flat .000. Robinson led the set with four kills while Lindberg and Zuluaga had nine and six assists, respectively. Martin and Diana Giordani each served up two aces while adding four digs.
Little Rock capped off the match with a 25-9 victory in the third frame after hitting .571 for the second time. The Trojans held the Lions to a match-low -.088 hitting percentage as North Alabama had nine attack errors for the set while hitting into five blocks by Little Rock. Maritza Mesa led the set with four kills and added two total blocks. Lindberg had nine assists, and Martin had four digs.
Mesa ended the match with eight kills, three total blocks and a .583 hitting percentage. Veronica Marin had five kills on six attempts with two aces, three digs and three block assists while Giordani tallied two aces and six digs.
The Trojans’ .455 hitting percentage for the match was the eighth-best in the rally-scoring era (2001-present) while the Lions ended the match hitting -.047.
Little Rock will look to start the season with two consecutive wins as it faces Mercer later on Friday at 4:30 p.m.