Conway – The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears celebrated senior day on Saturday afternoon, celebrating the career of lone senior
Rachel Sharp. After the festivities, the Sugar Bears rolled to a three-set sweep of the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks behind a staunch defensive effort that limited the Ladyjacks to an .011 attack percentage.
The Sugar Bears (15-13, 9-7 SLC) and Ladyjacks (19-10, 12-4 SLC) were even through the early going of the first set, until Central Arkansas broke a 9-9 tie with five straight points. The teams would trade the next few points, until UCA took three more points to force an SFA timeout with the Sugar Bears leading 18-11. Though the Ladyjacks would take the first three points out of the break, Central Arkansas would take the set 25-20 to grab a 1-0 lead in the match. Sophomore
Savanah Allen hit .500 while tallying a set-high five kills, while junior
Megan Nash added four kills.
The Ladyjacks would take a 4-1 lead to open the second set, before Central Arkansas went on an 11-4 run to force and timeout from SFA. The stoppage did little to slow the Sugar Bears down though, as they would take five of the next eight points to extend the lead to 17-11 and cause another timeout. SFA would get a short, three point streak out of the break, but UCA would again close the set strongly, extending their match lead to 2-0 with a 25-17 win in the set. Sophomore
Haley Tippett collected five kills and five digs in the set and freshman
Rayna Jefferis picked up seven digs.
Following the intermission, the Sugar Bears wasted no time in the third set, taking six of the first eight points for a 6-2 lead. Central Arkansas would take a timeout after the Ladyjacks cut the lead to 12-10, but that was as close as it would get, as UCA took the set 25-15. The Sugar Bears spread the wealth offensively in the set, with Allen and Nash each picking up three kills and Tippett, and sophomores
Samantha Anderson and
Elizabeth Armstrong each added two.
For the match, Tippett and Allen tied for the match-high with nine kills each, while Nash added eight and Anderson had seven, thanks to 28 assists from Armstrong. Defensively, sophomore
Amanda Dimon collected a match-high 14 digs, while Jefferis chipped in with 12 and Tippett added 10, and at the net, Allen and Nash each picked up five blocks.
With the win, the Sugar Bears finish over .500 in Southland Conference play for the ninth straight season and end tied for fourth with Houston Baptist in the final standings.
Despite the tie, the Sugar Bears will be the fifth seed in next week's Southland Conference Volleyball Tournament, which begins on Friday at the Farris Center in Conway. Central Arkansas will take on the fourth-seeded Houston Baptist Huskies at 6:30 PM on Friday night.
