Conway – The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears opened the final week of the 2016 regular season in style on Thursday night, taking down the Sam Houston State Bearkats 3-1 behind a massive 17.5 team blocks.

Central Arkansas (14-13, 8-7 SLC) hit .333 to win a back-and-forth first set 25-22 to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Freshman Elizabeth Armstrong dished out 12 assists as the Sugar Bears spread the wealth in the set, with sophomore Haley Tippett leading the way with four kills, while Armstrong and fellow sophomore Samantha Anderson each collected three kills. Freshman Rayna Jefferis dug four Sam Houston State (15-13, 9-6 SLC) attacks and junior Megan Nash picked up three blocks in the set.

The Sugar Bears continued their efficient attacking in the second set, upping their attack percentage to .382 to take the set 25-17 and extend their lead to 2-0. Tippett added five kills to her total, as did Nash, while Anderson chipped in with four and Jefferis collected five more digs.

Central Arkansas looked to be on the way to a sweep, as they found themselves leading the third set, before a 7-0 Bearkat run gave SHSU a 25-22 win to cut the UCA lead to 2-1. Tippett again led the way with three kills, but also picked up seven digs, while Nash, Armstrong, Anderson, and sophomore Kellen Dunn all added a pair of kills.

Central Arkansas closed out the match in the fourth set, using nine and a half team blocks to limit the Bearkats to a .049 hitting percentage and pick up the 3-1 win with a 25-20 win in the set. Tippett paced the Sugar Bears yet again, tallying four kills and adding five digs and five blocks. Anderson and Dunn both added three kills, while Nash picked up six blocks.

On the night, Tippett had a huge night, earning her first career triple-double with a match-high 16 kills and 17 digs, while adding 10 blocks. Armstrong earned her eight double-double of the season with 42 assist and 10 digs, while Nash earned her first double-double with 10 kills and a match-high 12 blocks. Anderson ended the match with 11 kills and Dunn finished with 10, while Jefferis ended up with 15 digs and sophomore Amanda Dimon had 11.

"I give credit to Elizabeth for our offensive balance," said UCA head coach Jeni Jones Chatman. "She has done a really good job of running our offense, finding the hot hitter, and knowing when to jam them to keep them the hot hitter. Coach Huskey does an incredible job of working with her and our scouting, but she has to actually execute it, and she's really evolved as the season has progressed, so I'm really excited to see where she continues to go."

Chatman commented on the UCA defense, which has come on strong in the past four matches, saying, "We've been spending a lot of time on that. One of the biggest changes is that we're actually digging balls that are hit right at us, which we struggled with early in the season. So to finally make that transition opens up a world of possibilities for us. Our team is playing with so much confidence right now, and they're playing with so much focus and passion and I couldn't be more proud of them."

Central Arkansas will finish the regular season on Saturday at noon, playing host to Stephen F. Austin at the Prince Center. The Sugar Bears will use the match to honor the career of senior Rachel Sharp.

"It's unfortunate that Rachel has been reduced to a back-row only player," said Chatman of UCA's lone senior. "But she's willing to do whatever she can for this program and she's going to give you everything she's got. The biggest thing, any time I talk about Rachel, is the character and the leadership she brings to this team and to our program. She's got a winner's mentality, no matter the score or situation. And she's so coachable. There's no eye roll or frustration, she just soaks it in and says thanks."