Corpus Christi, Texas – The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears will begin their quest for back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances today, facing off with Stephen F. Austin in the first round of the Southland Conference Tournament at 4:00 this afternoon.

The top-seeded Sugar Bears (26-3, 18-0 SLC), who are currently riding a 19 match winning-streak, won both of the meetings between the two teams in straight sets this season. Balance is the name of the game offensively for Central Arkansas, as they have eight players who average 1.80 kills per set or more, led by All-SLC first teamers Heather Schnars (3.50) and Jessica Nagy (3.04). This balance comes from setter Marissa Collins, the SLC's Player and Setter of the Year, who led the conference and ranked fourth nationally with 12.06 assists per set. On the defensive front, Central Arkansas is led by libero Shelbee Berringer's 4.85 digs per set and middle blockers Paige Gantar's 0.70 blocks per set. Under the guidance of SLC Coach of the Year David McFatrich, the Sugar Bears led the SLC in hitting percentage, assists, and kills, while ranking second in opponent hitting percentage and service aces.

The Ladyjacks (16-15, 8-10 SLC) are led by juniors Jill Ivy, who averages 3.07 kills per set, and Paige Holland, who dishes out 8.14 assists per set. Defensively, SFA is led by sophomores OJ Olsen, who averaged 5.11 digs per set, and Jacque Allen, who had 1.16 blocks per set. Stephen F. Austin ranked fifth in service aces and blocks, and sixth in kills.

The winner of this afternoon's match will face the winner of the match between fourth-seeded Sam Houston State and fifth-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi tomorrow afternoon at 1:30. The winner of that match will advance to the SLC Tournament championship match, which is set for 2:05 on Sunday afternoon, with the winner receiving the Southland's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.