Conway – The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears closed out a four match homestand on Saturday, hosting the Incarnate Word Cardinals at the Prince Center. The Sugar Bears took advantage of a stifling defense on the day, pushing their winning streak to five-straight matches by limiting the Cardinals to an .075 hitting percentage en route to a 25-13, 25-22, 25-18 win.
After the teams opened the first set by playing to an 8-8 draw, Central Arkansas (16-2, 5-1 SLC) would take the next eight points, opening up a 16-8 lead thanks to five Incarnate Word (3-11, 2-5 SLC) errors and kills from
Samantha Anderson, Alanna Bramwell, and
Abbie Harry, and an ace from
Megan Nash. The Sugar Bears would cruise through the rest of the set, pushing the run to 17-5 to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Anderson led the UCA attack in the set, knocking down five kills and hitting .444, while Bramwell had three blocks as UCA held UIW to a -.167 attack percentage.
UIW would take an early 8-7 lead in the second set, before UCA again took control with a run, this time taking seven-straight points behind four kills from
Amanda Beaton. The Sugar Bears would push the lead to 20-13, but the Cardinals would battle back, cutting the lead to 23-21 before kills from Harry and Anderson gave them a 2-0 lead in the match.
Elizabeth Armstrong keyed the UCA offense in the set, handing out 13 assists as Anderson added six kills to her tally and Beaton chipped in with five.
"It was great to get a sweep and see some different faces on the floor, with Amanda Beaton coming in and hitting .308, we see that every day in our gym," said UCA head coach Jeni Jones Chatman. "Whether she's on the right side or the outside, she brings it. And to know that we can bring an arm like that, that can bring that kind of pace on the ball, off the bench, is really exciting. We're definitely going to use that depth as the season progresses."
The Cardinals would open up an 11-7 lead in the third set, before Central Arkansas again stormed back, taking a 14-12 lead with a 7-1 run on the back of three kills from Anderson and one from
Haley Tippett. UIW took the next two points to tie the match at 14-14, but the Sugar Bears would regain control, closing out the match with an 11-4 run. Central Arkansas hit .318 in the set, getting six more kills from Anderson, three from Nash, and two from Tippett.
Anderson led the UCA attack on the day, hitting .481 while turning in a match-high 17 kills to go along with three blocks and a dig, while Nash hit .500 with seven kills, a block, and an ace. Armstrong dished out a match-high 28 assists and added five digs and a block, while defensively, UCA got six kills from
Emily Doss and six blocks from Bramwell.
"I'm really proud of Sam and Megan for putting together another match of phenomenal hitting percentage and blocking presence," said Chatman. "Even if that didn't result in blocks per set, it certainly resulted in players having to force shots around them."
Central Arkansas opens a four match road trip with a pair of matches next week. The Sugar Bears will head to Thibodaux, Louisiana to take on the Nicholls Colonels at 6:30 PM on Thursday night. UCA will then head to Lake Charles, Louisiana for a 12:30 PM match against McNeese State on Saturday.
"We're going to get back in to watching more film with the team, and break down the matches from this week," said Chatman on the Sugar Bears' preparation for the next two weeks. "Whether for certain individuals or positional, we're going to take a look at some things we need to improve, both for our individual skill positions and overall as a team. It's been a great homestand, and it's certainly a bummer that we have to go on the road now, but every team in the conference has to do it and we're just looking to continue what we're doing and making it a road show."
