CONWAY, Ark. – The University of Central Arkansas volleyball team got 23 kills from freshman Scout Brooks and another 17 from Jessica Nagy as the Sugar Bears recorded a 3-1 (25-15, 25-14, 22-25, 27-25) victory over the Lamar Cardinals Saturday afternoon at the Prince Center.
Brooks, playing in just her fourth match of the year, recorded the most kills any Sugar Bear has tallied in any match this season while hitting an impressive .391.
“We didn’t know if we were going to lose Scout for the entire season or not,” said head coach David McFatrich. “She kept rehabbing and working hard. She’s not all the way back yet but you can see glimpses of her all around play. She’s a very good volleyball player.”
UCA’s defense was dominant in the first two sets, helping the Sugar Bears jump to a 2-0 advantage. The defensive effort on the day was evidenced by four different Sugar Bears having double-digit dig efforts. Nagy and Beth Rogers each finished with 14 digs. Cristin Curl dug up 12 attack attempts and Marissa Collins completed her double-double getting 11 digs to go along with her 46 assists.
“Our defense in the firsts two game was just incredible,” said McFatrich. “We were reading their attackers very well and coming up with some amazing digs.”
Lamar went into halftime however and made a few adjustments keeping UCA from earning the 3-0 sweep. The Cardinals hit .211 in the third set and then .235 in the fourth, compared to .125 and .132 over the opening two sets.
“They started mixing things up a little bit and that’s why they were able to win the third game and keep the fourth close,” said McFatrich. “Lamar is a very good volleyball team and we are happy to win in four.”
The Sugar Bears had to come from behind to earn the fourth set victory, however. Trailing 24-22, UCA stayed alive after a service ace by Lamar’s Alex Morford. A block by Taylor Hammonds and Collins tied things up at 24 apiece. After a Shelbee Berringer ace made it 25-24, Lamar tied it back up on a block by Cynthia McCollum and Christina Hobbs. Brooks then took over as she had done all day and earned the final two kills of the match, propelling the Sugar Bears to victory.
With the win, UCA improved their record to 12-9 overall including a mark of 7-2 in Southland play. Lamar, who was half a game back of the Sugar Bears coming into the day’s match, fell to 7-16 overall and 5-3 in league play.
“It feels good to extend the division lead,” McFatrich said. “We’ve got a long way to go—we are just past the halfway point and are going to have to make some trips to play the other division which is probably a little tougher than ours, to be honest.
The Sugar Bears get back in action on Monday evening when they travel to Columbia, Mo. to take on the Missouri Tigers. Last season, UCA dropped a 3-0 decision to the Tigers in the Western Kentucky tournament in Bowling Green, Ky.
“We’re anxious to play Missouri,” said McFatrich. “Last year when we played I don’t think we played as well as we could have so we’re definitely looking forward to this match-up.”
