Norman, Okla. – The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears closed out their appearance at the 2015 Oklahoma Nike Invitational on Saturday, squaring off with host Oklahoma. The Sooners proved to be too much for the Sugar Bears on the day, as Central Arkansas fell 3-0.
Oklahoma (2-4) beat the Sugar Bears decisively in the first set, outhitting Central Arkansas (1-5) .500 to .105 en route to a 25-12 win that gave them a 1-0 lead in the match. UCA got three kills from senior
Heather Schnars in the set, while junior
Rachel Sharp and freshman
Samantha Anderson each tallied a pair of kills.
The Sugar Bears responded well though, giving the Sooners all they could handle in the second set. Central Arkansas hit just .067 in the set, but took advantage of five more kills from Schnars and three from freshman
Savanah Allen, along with six team blocks in the set to push OU to the edge. The Sugar Bears came up just short though, ceding at 25-23 set win to the Sooners.
In the third set, the Sugar Bears struggled to get anything going, getting just six kills and hitting .000 while dropping the set 25-14. Schnars was the only Sugar Bear with multiple kills in the set, adding a pair to her total.
For the match, Central Arkansas was led by Schnars' team-high 10 kills and .125 hitting percentage, and fellow senior
Amy South's match-high 24 assists. Defensively, freshman
Amanda Dimon dug a team-high nine attacks, while Allen knocked down a match-high five blocks.
Following the match, Schnars earned her second All-Tournament team honor of the young season. For the weekend, the Downey, California native averaged 3.42 kills per set, totaling 41 while leading the team with a .194 hitting percentage. She added 23 digs, for an average of 1.92 per set, and nine service aces, for an average of 0.75 per set.
Central Arkansas is back on the road next weekend, traveling to California for four matches in the Mizuno Invitaitonal hosted by Long Beach State and Loyola Marymount. On Friday, the Sugar Bears will take on Stony Brook and LMU in Los Angeles, before making the short journey to Long Beach, where they will battle Oakland and LBSU on Saturday.
