Conway – The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears returned to action on Saturday afternoon, hosting the University of New Orleans Privateers at the Prince Center. The Sugar Bears were nearly flawless in the attack on the day, tallying just six attack errors while hitting .385 to defeat the Privateers 3-0.

The first set saw Central Arkansas (10-11, 4-5 SLC) build a 7-2 lead to open the set, before the Privateers (4-16, 1-6 SLC) battled back to force a Sugar Bear timeout with UCA leading 14-10. From that point on the set would belong to Central Arkansas, who used an 11-2 run to close out the set and take a 1-0 lead in the match. Central Arkansas was perfect in the set, tallying 12 kills while making zero attack errors for a .429 percentage. Junior Megan Nash led the way for the Sugar Bears, tallying six kills, while senior Rachel Sharp bolstered the UCA defense with five digs.

The second set was a much different affair; with Central Arkansas taking a 17-11 lead before the Privateers stormed back to even the set at 19-19. Neither side was able to create separation over the next six eight points, before a kill from sophomore Samantha Anderson and an ace from freshman Rayna Jefferis gave UCA the 25-23 set win.  Sophomore Haley Tippett hit a red-hot .714 in the set and tallied six kills, while Anderson chipped in with three kills and three blocks.

After UNO opened the third set with a short 3-1 run, Central Arkansas would regain control by taking a 6-4 lead. After Central Arkansas extended the lead to 11-6, UNO would cut it to just one point twice, but the Sugar Bears would shut down the rally each time. A 5-2 run from the Sugar Bears gave them a 25-18 win in the set and a secure the 3-0 win. Tippett, Anderson, and sophomore Kellen Dunn each picked up four kills in the set, as freshman Elizabeth Armstrong passed out 13 assists.

On the day, Tippett attacked at a .522 clip while tallying a match-high 13 kills and filling out the score sheet with seven digs, two assists, and an ace. Anderson added nine kills and had a match-high seven blocks, while Armstrong handed out 30 assists and collected six kills and five digs. Jefferis and sophomore Amanda Dimon each picked up eight digs.

The Sugar Bears hit the road for a pair of Southland Conference matches next week. UCA will battle Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches, Texas at 6:30 PM on Thursday evening, before squaring off with Sam Houston State at 2:00 PM on Saturday afternoon.