Box Score STOCKTON, Calif. – The UALR volleyball team got a balanced offensive attack as three players had at least five kills and one reached a new career high, but Pacific proved too much to handle and earned a 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-11) in both teams' season opener on Friday night.
The match, which began at 9 p.m. central time, was part of the Pacific Bankers Classic. UALR resumes action in the two-day, three-match tournament on Saturday at noon.
The Trojans got a match- and career-high 10 kills from redshirt sophomore Carolee Dillard, who also led the way with five blocks. Sophomore Megan Mathis had a career-best 18 assists in the most significant action of her UALR career.
Sonja Milanovic chipped in six kills and a team-high seven digs while Edina Selimovic had five. Edina Begic had four kills and four blocks. Capri Rino and Kelsey Leech had five and four digs, respectively.
Newcomers got on the stat sheet as well, with Katarina Bursac scoring two assists and Marina Avram picking up three digs.
The first set saw the Trojans go down early, and the team was unable to mount a comeback. A Dillard kill tied the set at 1-1, but Pacific ran off nine of the next 12 points to take a 10-4 lead. The Trojans stormed back with four consecutive points on a service run by Selimovic that included back-to-back block assists by Begic and Dillard. UALR was again within two points at 12-10, but Pacific was in control from there. The Tigers went on a 8-2 run to take a 20-12 lead in the set, and the deficit was too much to make up as the Trojans fell 25-15.
UALR fell behind early in the second set as the Tigers jumped out to a 6-2 advantage. The Pacific lead only grew from that point, and the Tigers led by as many as eight in the set. Still, UALR did not go down quietly, scoring points late in the set to give Pacific some trouble. UALR had 13 kills in the set, its highest total of any set on the night. Dillard had four of those kills while Selimovic got three and Begic and Milanovic chipped in two each.
In the night's final set, UALR again went down quickly despite two of the Trojans' first three points coming on Dillard kills. Pacific was ahead 15-5 after the first 20 points, and the Tigers closed out the match from there.
UALR returns to the court in just over 12 hours, taking on No. 5 USC in both teams' second games of the Bankers Classic. USC knocked off Rider 3-0 in earlier Friday action. UALR will meet Rider at 7 p.m. on Saturday to finish the tournament for all sides.
