Hammond, Louisiana – The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears took to the court at the University Center in Hammond, Louisiana for the first of a pair of road matches this week. The Sugar Bears found themselves down early, but rallied to take down Southeastern Louisiana 3-1.

With the teams tied at 9-9 in the first set, Southeastern Louisiana (6-20, 5-8 SLC) took advantage of an 8-2 run to build a 17-11 lead before the Sugar Bears (12-13, 6-7 SLC) stormed back with a 9-1 streak of their own to take a 20-18 lead. From that point, the teams would trade points with Southeastern eventually grabbing a 1-0 lead in the match with a 29-27 win in the set. Sophomores Haley Tippett and Savanah Allen led the way for the Sugar Bears in the set, with each picking up four kills. Tippett led UCA defensively as well, digging eight Lady Lion attacks, while freshman Rayna Jefferis added seven digs.

The second set started in a similar fashion, with the teams again finding themselves tied at 9-9, but the teams would flip roles, with UCA building a 15-12 lead and SLU evening the set at 17-17. The Sugar Bears would close the set out with an 8-2 run, tying the match at 1-1 with a 25-19 win. Sophomore Samantha Anderson tallied a team-high four kills in the set, while fellow sophomore Amanda Dimon picked up seven digs.

Central Arkansas exploded out of the gates in the third set, forcing a Lady Lion timeout after opening on a 7-2 run. The stoppage did little to slow the Sugar Bears however, as UCA took a 2-1 lead in the match behind a 25-14 win in the set. Tippett added five kills to her tally in the set, while Jefferis and senior Rachel Sharp picked up four digs each.

In the fourth set, Central Arkansas built an 8-4 lead that would prove to be the difference as the Sugar Bears would close out the match with a 25-22 win in the set. Tippett would add five kills to her total, and Anderson collected four more kills.

On the night, Tippett shone on both sides of the ball, picking up a team-high 17 kills and tying for the team-high with 15 digs. Anderson was the only-other Sugar Bears with double-digit kills on the day, hitting a red-hot .370 while striking 12 times, as freshman Elizabeth Armstrong totaled at match-high 45 assists. Defensively, Jefferis tied Tippett with 15 digs, DImon added 14, and Sharp chipped in with 10. At the net, Allen picked up a match-high seven blocks and Anderson added four.

Central Arkansas returns to action on Saturday, heading to Natchitoches, Louisiana to square off with the Northwestern Statet Lady Demons. The match is set to begin at 1:00 PM.