CONWAY, Ark. – The University of Central Arkansas volleyball team successfully avenged a 3-1 home loss to Northwestern State on Wednesday by defeating the UT Arlington Mavericks 3-1 (25-17, 24-26, 25-18, 25-19) Saturday afternoon at the Prince Center.
The Sugar Bears were red-hot to begin the match, as they used a .289 hitting percentage in the first set to secure the 25-17 game one win. UCA looked poised to take a 2-0 lead in the second set but they watched a 18-12 lead evaporate as UTA’s Charae Grosser had four kills down the stretch, giving the Mavericks a 26-24 advantage.
In the third set, UCA held the Mavericks to a mark of just .061 and then had their strongest performance of the day in the fourth set to get the win. In the final set, UCA hit an impressive .432 en route to the win.
“We were hoping for better execution today and we got it,” said head coach David McFatrich. “We stubbed our toes a bit in the second game and gave up too many runs. Near the end of the third game to the end of the fourth, we played really good volleyball.”
UCA (10-9, 5-2) was led in the match by four players who finished with double-digit kills and Marissa Collins, who posted a career-high 60 assists. Jessica Nagy tallied 17 kills, Scout Brooks finished with 15, Kyle Hartman earned 12 and Taylor Hammonds finished with 12. Brooks, playing in just her third match of the season had five kills in the final set.
“I was really proud of the way Scout bounced back. For someone who hasn’t played much this year, that’s a good way to see her finish.”
Defensively, Beth Rogers led the Sugar Bears with 21 digs while Cristin Curl finished with 10.
UTA was led by Tara Frantz’s 13 kills. Amy Davault chipped in 12 kills to go along with 10 digs and Amanda Welsh posted a double-double with 34 assists and 13 digs.
UCA will return to action on 7 p.m. Thursday night when they host McNeese State at the Prince Center. The match against McNeese will be the first of “Family Weekend,” which will also include Saturday’s match against Lamar.
“I want to thank the fans—it was a fantastic Saturday crowd at the House of Purple and we certainly want to carry that over into the matches this coming week.”
