Conway – The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears are no stranger to the Southland Conference Tournament, having appeared in the past five tournaments and earning the second seed in this tournament, which begins Friday in Conway. The Sugar Bears will take on seventh-seeded Sam Houston State at 6:30 PM, looking to improve on their 11-3 tournament record.

"It's always great when the program you are associated with makes it to postseason play," said UCA head coach Jeni Jones. "Winning for any competitor never gets old, regardless of your role within a program, knowing you're associated with a successful program feels great! UCA Volleyball is not a program that is unfamiliar to success. In fact, it is very familiar to postseason success, which is one of the many reasons that student-athletes choose UCA for their academic and playing careers."

Jones continued, saying, "We are thrilled for the opportunity to host championships on our beautiful campus, and are truly fortunate to have support from the very top in President Courtway, Dr. Teague, and from our incredible fans, support staff, and students. They make these postseason championship opportunities possible."

Central Arkansas (16-12, 12-4 SLC) has squared off with the Bearkats (13-17, 7-9 SLC) once already this season, earning a 3-0 victory in Huntsville, Texas on October 17^th to push their lead in the all-time series to 8-3. The Sugar Bears are led by two-time Southland Conference Player of the Year Heather Schnars, who led the Southland in total kills (258) and kills per set (4.69) while hitting .340, a number which ranked fourth in the league. The offense also features All-SLC first team-honoree Megan Nash, who .286 and averaged 2.22 kills per set. Defensively, the sophomore ranked second in the Southland with an average of 1.31 blocks per set. All-Southland second-teamer Amy South runs the Central Arkansas attack, ranking third in the league with 10.25 assists per set and leading the Sugar Bears to the second-best hitting percentage in the league (.249).

Sam Houston is led by sophomore Jordyn Vaughn's 3.44 kills per set, while fellow sophomore Brooke White is chipping in with 3.17 kills per set. Defensively, the Bearkats are led by juniors Shelby Genung (0.65 blocks per set) and Claire Kilpatrick (4.20 digs per set).

Jones said of the match, "It's tournament time. Each of the very talented teams arriving to our campus for the championship, including us, will be playing their best volleyball."

The winner of the match will move on to a semifinal match-up with the winner of no. 3 Stephen F. Austin (20-13, 11-5 SLC) and no. 6 Houston Baptist (15-16, 7-9 SLC), which is set to begin at 4:00 PM tomorrow.