Fort Meyers, Fla. –

The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears and the Florida Gulf Coast Eagle opened play in the 2013 Hilton Garden Inn/Homewood Suites Airport Volleyball Classic Friday morning. The match was an exciting one, as the Sugar Bears dropped the first set 25-17 before taking the next three sets 27-25, 27-25, 26-24 to earn the 3-1 victory.

The Sugar Bears (7-1) got production from all over the court in the victory, with four players turning in double-digit kills. Heather Schnars led the team with 12 kills, followed by Jessica Nagy with 11, and Scout Brooks and Paige Gantar, who each had 10. Brooks also collected 16 digs to earn the double-double. Marissa Collins paced the Central Arkansas offense with 48 assists while
Shlebee Berringer led the defense with 24 digs.

Christin Pinder turned in a match-high 19 kills for the Eagles (1-7), who also got double-digit kills from Jessica Barnes (17), Kaitlin Holm (16), and Olivia Mesner (10). Pinder added 15 digs for the double-double. Gigi Meyer dished out a match-high 57 assists and Whitney Masters tallied 38 digs.

Central Arkansas returns to the court tomorrow morning at 9:00 am, facing off with no. 3 Penn State. They will finish their tournament appearance tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 pm, battling Marquette.