Nacogdoches, Texas –
The Central Arkansas volleyball team didn’t make it pretty on Saturday, but they managed to pick up the win in Nacogdoches, winning the final three sets against Stephen F. Austin to move to 16-1 on the season.
The Sugar Bears (16-1, 5-1 SLC) were looking to unseat the Ladyjacks (14-4, 5-1), who came into the match at a perfect 5-0 in Southland Conference play. After two sets though, it looked as if Stephen F. Austin was going to continue their dominant play in conference, taking the first set 25-20 and winning a hard fought second set 31-29. Central Arkansas wasn’t done though, battling back to take extended third and fourth set victories (26-24 and 30-28 respectively) before completing their comeback with a 15-12 fifth set win that saw the Sugar Bears lead wire to wire. “It was one of the most incredible comebacks I have ever seen. And the fact that half of that gym was filled with Bear fans chanting “UCA! UCA!’ made it that much more special,” said coach David McFatrich afterwards. “One of our dads was following the game on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, and his computer froze up when the score was 26-25 in the third. He was freaking out and had to have his blood pressure checked by the medic; it was 150/90! He called me from the rig 2,000 miles away and said, “Fatch, I can’t take this!’”
Central Arkansas overcame a hitting percentage of .000 in the first set to turn in a mark of .215 on the day, led by Alicia Dittrich, who hit .387 on her way to 16 kills. Jessica Hays led the team in kills, tallying 23, while Scout Brooks (20) and Jessica Nagy (11) also collected double digit kills. Marissa Collins paced the Sugar Bear offense, distributing 66 assists, good for the fifth highest single-match total in school history, while also chipping in 11 digs, an ace, and a kill. Hays added 13 digs, four blocks, and an ace, while Dittrich contributed seven digs, four blocks, and an assist. Shelbee Berringer led the team with 24 digs.
Stephen F. Austin hit .217 for the match, led by Jill Ivy, who hit .353 on her way to a team-leading 17 kills. Cara Leslie also had a big game for the Ladyjacks, turning in 15 kills and 12 blocks. Paige Holland keyed the Stephen F. Austin offense with 50 assists, while Katzy Randall contributed 17 digs, nine kills, and two blocks.
The Sugar Bears step out of Southland Conference play for their next match, hosting the Big 12’s Texas Tech on Tuesday night at the Prince Center. They return to conference play on Thursday night, hosting McNeese State, before playing host to Lamar on Saturday afternoon.
