CONWAY, Ark.- Little Rock volleyball enters teh UCA Invitational this weekend riding a wave of momentum after a strong showing, poised to face a challenging slate of opponents including Southeastern Louisiana, Central Arkansas, and Boston College. The Trojans will look to build on recent successes and continue their climb in the program record books.
key performers in Little Rock’s recent matches include Crismeyli Rodriguez (11 digs), Jaycee Kennedy (11 kills), Bella Cherry (23 kills), and Avery Fearnley (11 kills). junior libero Andrea Roman reached a meaningful milestone, notching her 1,000th career dig and moving into ninth place all-time in Little Rock history with 1,005. Roman, who ranked sixth nationally in total digs with 624 last season – a single-season program record – is on pace to potentially break the program’s all-time dig record.
The invitational begins with a Friday matchup against Southeastern Louisiana, who opened their season with a dominant sweep of their own invitational, the Southeastern Showdown, defeating ULM, louisiana Tech, and Jackson State. The Lions boast Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week Kyra McKelvey, who hit .484 with 40 kills and eight blocks. Southeastern Louisiana has won the last two Southland Conference regular-season titles. (series tied 1-1)
Saturday brings a rivalry contest against Central Arkansas. Despite dropping their first two matches at the Rice Invitational against Texas A&M and Rice, the Sugar Bears pushed Texas A&M to five sets. Laci Bohannon leads Central Arkansas with 23 kills,while Caylan Koons has 51 assists,McKinzee Haas 10 blocks,and Alexis McDaniel 30 digs. The winner of this match earns three points toward the Governor’s Trophy. (UCA leads series, 9-6)
Little Rock will conclude the invitational Saturday afternoon against Boston College in the first-ever meeting between the two programs. The Eagles are coming off a dominant performance at the Iona Invitational, sweeping NJIT, Stonehill, and Iona. Boston College hit .310 as a team during the invitational and limited opponents to a .030 hitting percentage. key players for the Eagles include Audrey Ross (25 kills), Lucy Mott (40 assists), Brooklyn Yelland (30 digs), and Cornelia Roach (13 blocks). (First meeting)
