STATESBORO, Ga. – Edina Selimovic collected 17 kills and 10 blocks, and Little Rock fought off three match points in the fifth set to take a 3-2 (25-17, 24-26, 23-25, 25-23, 19-17) Sun Belt Conference volleyball victory over Georgia Southern Saturday night in Hanner Fieldhouse.

Anna Wenger led four Eagles in double-figure kills with a career-high 19, and Katie Bange added 16 kills, 29 assists and eight digs. Lauren Reichard posted 13 kills and three blocks for Georgia Southern (12-14, 4-6), and Cathrine Murray tallied 12 kills, 11 digs and three aces. Alex Beecher finished with 36 digs and three aces, and Kendra Koetter had 31 assists and 17 digs.

Veronica Marin and Miona Milovanovic each notched 12 kills for Little Rock (11-15, 7-6), and Carolee Dillard recorded 11 kills and eight blocks. Taylor Lindberg collected 52 assists, 11 digs and four blocks.

The story
A kill by Bange made the score 14-12 in favor of the Eagles in the fifth set, but Georgia Southern committed consecutive hitting errors that tied the score. After fighting off a Trojan match point with a kill by Bange, Murray put down a ball to give the Eagles a 17-16 lead, but Little Rock answered the bell with three straight blocks to win the match. Dillard was in on the last two, and Lindberg assisted on two during the stretch.

Little Rock out-blocked the Eagles 19-3 in the match and tallied seven in the final set. Georgia Southern also put forth a strong defensive effort and out-dug the Trojans 81-67 while also tallying nine service aces.

Georgia Southern led 21-20 in the fourth, but Little Rock used a 4-1 run, behind a kill and a block by Marina Avram, to open a 24-22 lead. Bange put down a kill to eliminate one set point, but Milovanovic ended the set with a kill as the Trojans tied the match 2-2.

Quotable from head coach Dustin Wood
On the match points
"We just weren't aggressive and got a little tentative. We had opportunities that you have to take advantage of so we're disappointed in that. They had seven blocks in the fifth set alone, and we hit negative so when you have match points not playing that well, you have to take it and run with it. We didn't do that tonight."

On Little Rock's 19 team blocks
"Our passing made it easier for them to block. Their middles didn't have to move too much. When we did pass well, we sided out pretty easily because the block was late, but passing was a little off tonight. It wasn't bad, but you need better passing to have more options open and make their middles move."

On Wenger's night
"It was a quiet 19 kills for Anna. She just does her job, and it's nice to see. We need everybody to do their job, and we'll be okay. It was a good match. We came out on the wrong side of it, and we move on to Wednesday."

Next up
The Eagles play host to Coastal Carolina Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Hanner Fieldhouse.

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