Conway – The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears entered Thursday night's matchup with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi as the last Southland Conference team to have beaten the Islanders, earning a 3-2 win in the SLC Tournament on November 22^nd, 2014. After career nights from their three captains, the Sugar Bears are still the last team to have handed the Islanders a defeat, snapping a 43-match, 1,047 day, conference winning streak by outlasting TAMUCC 3-2.

"I'm just so proud of our program," said UCA head coach Jeni Jones Chatman. "Everything doesn't come down to just this one match, but the time in practice, and the mentality, and everything that we've been trying to get our players to do and to buy into, they've done it. I know I've hit on that a lot this year, but I truly believe that's why we've been successful, because the chemistry is there, the buy-in is there, and we're just more efficient. I'm just so proud of this program. It was great to see several of our alumni here tonight and just how proud they are. And it was great to see President Davis and Dr. Teague, and all of the student-athletes and coaches that were here to support us tonight. It's such a unique atmosphere."

In an absolute slugfest that saw the teams combine for 144 kills and 133 assists, Central Arkansas (15-2, 4-1 SLC) saw Elizabeth Armstrong outduel reigning Southland Setter of the Year Kristyn Nicholson, handing out a career-best 63 assists, a number which is tied for eighth-most in school history. Samantha Anderson paced the UCA attack, knocking down a career-high 26 kills on 48 swings for a blistering .458 attack percentage, and added a match-high five blocks, while Megan Nash also reached a career-high, turning in 22 kills on 36 attacks for a .556 hitting percentage. Abbie Harry added 16 kills, while defensively, Emily Doss turned in a match-high 23 digs and Haley Tippett added 16.

The Islanders (8-9, 5-1 SLC) opened the match with a 7-1 run before the Sugar Bears settled in, cutting the lead to 9-6. That would be as close as UCA could get, as TAMUCC took advantage of nine kills from Brittany Gilpin to take a 1-0 lead in the match with a 25-18 win in the set. Nash led the UCA attack in the set, hitting .600 with seven kills.

"Megan kept us afloat," said Chatman. "Her offensive presence was key for us. It was key in set one, even though as a team we weren't playing as well, and she maintained that presence throughout the entire night, which is pretty hard to do. Her numbers were phenomenal. To get set that many times and have that many kills, especially as a middle, is impressive. That's something we've been putting a lot of time into, is our middle attack, so it's good to see all that work end up in a match."

The second set was a much more contested affair, featuring 13 ties and six lead changes. The sides played to a 17-17 deadlock before a 7-0 UCA run  put the set out of reach for the Islanders. UCA hit .417 in the set, as Anderson knocked down seven kills and Nash added five.

"Samantha Anderson came up huge tonight; it didn't matter if there was a double-block or a triple-block, she found a way to get it done," said Chatman. "Over the last two weeks, she's been on this steady, but steep, incline. She works so hard in practice; she's a team captain, along with Megan and Elizabeth; she gets it done in the classroom, and she just does it right. To see everything coming together for her, is great."

The Sugar Bears appeared poised to build upon the momentum of the second set, building an 11-6 lead to open the set, but a 9-1 Islander lead would turn the five point edge into a two-point deficit. The Islanders would control the rest of the set, taking a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-20 win in the set. UCA spread the offense equally in the set, as Tippett, Anderson, Nash, and Harry all had three kills.

The Islanders appeared ready to pick up their 44th-consecutive conference win, opening up a 12-6 lead in the fourth set and forcing match point with a 24-22 lead, but Central Arkansas would get kills from Anderson, Nash, and Tippett to take a 25-24 lead before an Islander error gave UCA a 26-24 win to even the match at 2-2. Armstrong had her best set of the night for the Sugar Bears, handing out 17 assists as Anderson added 10 kills to her tally and Harry had six.

TAMUCC would again build a lead in the fifth set, going up 7-5, but Central Arkansas would find another answer, rolling off five-straight points thanks to four kills from Nash and an ace from Tippett to take a10-7 lead. The Islanders would cut the advantage to two points twice, but the Sugar Bears would refuse to relinquish the lead, earning the match win with a 15-12 win in the set. In the set, Nash added five kills and Anderson chipped in with four.

"The crowd was amazing tonight," said Chatman of the 328 roaring fans that packed the Prince Center on the night. "I don't usually every hear anything except for the ins and outs of the game, but the crowd was an incredible presence. This is definitely one of the best, and the hardest places to play in the country."

Central Arkansas returns to action on Saturday, closing out a four-match homestand against the Incarnate Word Cardinals. The match is set to begin at 12:00 PM.

"UIW is a good team," said Chatman. "Corpus went five sets with New Orleans, and Incarnate went five sets with New Orleans. They're a team that has been battling in the matches that they've been in and they're just waiting for that next hump to get over. They're a great team and they're well-coached, and we know that we're going to get their best shot."