Orlando, Florida – The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears closed out their appearance in the Holiday Inn Orlando East/UCF Challenge on Saturday morning, defeating UNC-Asheville 3-1. Following the match, sophomores Samantha Anderson and Haley Tippett were named All-Tournament.

For the third straight match, Central Arkansas (6-7) charged out of the gates, building a 13-1 lead to open the first set. From that point on, the Sugar Bears and Bulldogs (5-5) would trade points, with UCA grabbing a 1-0 lead in the match thanks to a 25-11 win in the set. Tippett paced the Sugar Bears with five kills in the set, while  freshman Elizabeth Armstrong handed out seven assists. Junior Megan Nash began what would prove to be a giant day at the net, picking up four blocks to help UCA hold the Bulldogs to a -.250 hitting percentage.

The second set was a much different story, as neither team was able to create much separation, with UCA taking a timeout after UNCA took a 16-14 lead. The Sugar Bears would take their second timeout of the set while trailing by a 22-21 margin. UCA would storm out of the timeout, closing the set with a  4-1 run to push their lead to 2-0 in the match, thanks to a 25-23 set win. Armstrong, who collected 13 assists in the set, spread the ball well, as Anderson had four kills, Nash and freshman Amanda Beaton had three kills each, and Tippett and sophomore Kellen Dunn each added two kills. Nash continued to dominate at the net, adding four blocks to her total.

In the third set, it was the Bulldogs' turn to build a lead early, as they jumped to a 13-5 lead to force a timeout from UCA. Central Arkansas exploded out of the break, going on a 9-3 run to cut the lead to 16-14 and cause the Bulldogs to take a timeout of their own.  After UNCA pushed the lead to 23-18, it looked like UCA would rally again, as the Sugar Bears put together a short 3-0 run before a service error and an attack error gave the Bulldogs a 25-23 win to make the match 2-1 in favor of the Sugar Bears. Armstrong added 12 assists in the set and again moved the ball around, with Tippett picking up five kills, Anderson adding four, Dunn picking up three, and Nash chipping in with two. Nash would also pick up two more blocks in the set.

The teams traded big runs early in the fourth, with UCA building a 6-1 lead before UNCA responded with a 7-2 run to even the set at 8-8 and force the Sugar Bears to take a timeout. UCA again took advantage of the pause, getting a 4-1 run out of the timeout to take a 12-9 lead. Back-to-back kills from UNCA cut the lead to 12-11, but that was as close as the Bulldogs would get. Central Arkansas closed out the set with a 13-6 run to earn the 3-1 win with a 25-16 set win. Dunn led the way for the Sugar Bears in the set, tallying five kills, while Anderson and Nash each had four. Armstrong handed out 14 assists, while Nash added a pair of blocks.

On the day, Armstrong equaled her career high, dishing out 46 assists as UCA had three players tally double-digit kills. Tippett led the way, collecting 15 kills and adding a team-high 12 digs for her fifth double-double of the season, while Anderson picked up 14 kills and Dunn hit .400 to collect 10 kills. Nash just missed double-figures, as she had nine kills, but she tied for the team lead in points thanks to a career-high 12 blocks.

Anderson and Tippett earned All-Tournament honors after a pair of monster weeks. Anderson ranked second on the team with 3.09 kills per set and 1.00 blocks per set,
while Tippett lead the Sugar Bears with 3.64 kills per set and ranked second on the team with 3.18 digs per set. 

Central Arkansas opens Southland Conference play with a pair of matches next weekend. On Thursday, the Sugar Bears will face off with the Nicholls Colonels at 6:30 PM, before battling the McNeese Cowgirls at 12:30 PM on Saturday.