Conway – The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears returned to action on Thursday night, hosting the University of New Orleans Privateers at the Prince Center. The Sugar Bears picked up a 3-1 win over the Privateers, pushing their winning streak to six matches.
The Sugar Bears (8-9, 4-1 SLC) came out of the gate strong, hitting .333 in the first set. Senior
Heather Schnars picked up six kills in the opening set, while junior
Fulani Petties chipped in four, as Central Arkansas took the set 25-18 to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
The second set would prove to be all Privateers (8-9, 0-3 SLC), as UNO outhit Central Arkansas .333 to -.121 to take the set 25-10 and even the match at 1-1. Schnars and
Rachel Sharp were the only Sugar Bears with kills in the set, tallying three each.
"We talked about it between sets: how are we going to respond?" said Central Arkansas head coach Jeni Jones after the match. "I was really pleased to see us come back from that set and show so much character."
Central Arkansas responded well in the third set, upping its hitting percentage to .256 while limiting the Privateers to an attack percentage of .152. Schnars led the charge, adding eight kills to her total, and Sharp added five of her own as the Sugar Bears took the set 25-18 to take a 2-1 lead.
The fourth set saw the teams fighting for control for the early portion of the match until the Sugar Bears finally took over late. Schnars was again dominant, getting seven more kills in the set, which Central Arkansas took 25-21 to win the match 3-1.
"Heather was a big key to what we were able to do tonight," said Jones. "And at the end of set four, to see her get fired up like that is great. It's impressive that she's able to do so much on the floor."
On the night, Schnars tallied a season-high 24 kills while hitting .378 and adding 11 digs to complete the double-double. Senior
Amy South captained the Central Arkansas attack, handing out a match-high 37 assists and picking up a double-double of her own with 11 digs. Defensively, Central Arkansas was led by senior
Corri Hunt and freshman
Allie Kemp, who tied for the team high with 14 digs each, while Schnars, sophomore
Megan Nash, and freshman
Savanah Allen each had a pair of blocks.
Central Arkansas closes out its current homestand on Saturday, taking on Southeastern Louisiana at noon. "Southeastern is a very strong team," said Jones of the Lady Lions. "They've got a big right side, they've got terminal middles, and they work very hard, just like UNO did tonight. It'll be a battle."
