Natchitoches, La. – The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears took to the court on Sunday afternoon, looking for their third-straight Southland Conference Tournament title. The second-seeded Sugar Bears were unable to become the first SLC squad to reach that milestone though, falling to fifth-seeded Northwestern State 3-0.

Central Arkansas (20-12) was unable to hit over .100 in two of the three sets on the day, hitting .093 while losing the first set 25-23, .242 while dropping the second set 25-18, and .029 while losing the third 25-17.

"I think the biggest difference today was our errors," said Central Arkansas head coach David McFatrich. "They played better than us and we were not at our best today. I think that they were at their best, or near it, and they deserved the victory today."

Amy South keyed the Central Arkansas attack on the day, dishing out a match-high 32 assists while digging five attacks and adding two blocks. Heather Schnars turned in a match-high 12 kills and added seven digs of her own, while Fulani Petties and Megan Nash each added seven kills. Shelbee Berringer tallied a match-high 15 digs, while Nash had a team-high four blocks.

Tournament-MVP Mackenzie Neely led Northwestern State (16-16) with nine kills while Caiti O'Connell added eight and Glynna Johnson chipped in with seven. Emily Johnson had 17 assists, and Natalie Jaeger added 12, while Bailey Martin turned in 13 digs.

Schnars, who averaged 4.30 kills per set while hitting .318, and Berringer, who averaged 4.00 digs per set were named to the All-Tournament team following the match.