Conway – The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears opened the home portion of their schedule on Thursday afternoon, playing host to Southland Conference opponent Incarnate Word. The Sugar Bears struggled to offensively on the day, hitting just .110 as they fell to the Cardinals by a score of 3-1.

UIW (1-3) came out of the gates firing, hitting .350 in the first set and limiting the Sugar Bears (2-2) to a percentage of just .110 as they took the first set 25-20. Central Arkansas got five kills from junior Megan Nash in the set, while sophomore Haley Tippett gathered five digs.

UCA continued to struggle offensively in the second set, hitting -.065 while dropping the set by a score of 25-16. Senior Rachel Sharp was the only Sugar Bear with a positive attack percentage in the set, hitting .308 en route to five kills.

Central Arkansas rebounded in the third set, hitting a robust .357 to cut the UIW lead to 2-1 thanks to a 25-14 win. Tippett and sophomore Samantha Anderson paced the Sugar Bears with four kills apiece, while freshman Elizabeth Armstrong handed out 12 assists.

The rally would come up short in the fourth set, however, as the Sugar Bears saw their hitting percentage dip to .000 as they dropped the set 25-21. Tippett again led the way with four kills, and Sharp was the only other UCA player with multiple kills in the set, tallying three.

On the night, Sharp led the way offensively with 14 kills, while Tippett chipped in with 10 as Armstrong dished out 29 assists. Defensively, sophomore Amanda Dimon dug a team-high 18 attacks, while Sharp complete the double-double with 11 digs.

Central Arkansas returns to action tomorrow evening, welcoming the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles to the Farris Center on day two of the Crain Automotive Invitational at 7:00 PM.