Corpus Christi, Texas – The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears took advantage of a career-performance from Savanah Allen to defeat the McNeese State Cowgirls in four sets in the opening round of the Southland Conference Tournament. UCA, who advances to the SLC Semifinals for the seventh time in eight tournament appearances with the win, dropped the first set 23-25 before rallying to win the next three sets 25-23, 25-17, 25-19.

McNeese (19-13), who handed Central Arkansas (25-4) two of its four regular season losses, appeared primed for a third-straight win over the second-seeded Sugar Bears, outhitting UCA by .107 points to take the first set. Central Arkansas would get four kills from Allen, who went a perfect four-for-four the attack, and four more from Megan Nash, while McNeese got four kills from Keegan Nelms and three each from Ebony Lewis and Katelyn Elliot.

From that point forward, the Central Arkansas defense would take control of the match, racking up 12.5 blocks and 57 digs over the final three sets to hold the Cowgirls under a .180 hitting percentage for the duration.

McNeese would take a 7-5 lead to open the second set, before the Sugar Bears reeled off six-straight points to take an 11-7 lead. The Cowgirls would battle back to even the set at 12-12 , but Central Arkansas would take advantage of a pair of kills from Abbie Harry and one from Samantha Anderson to push the lead back to three at 19-16. UCA would extend the advantage to six thanks to a Cowgirl error, but McNeese would use a 5-1 run to pull to within a point at 24-23. A kill from Haley Tippett would put the rally to rest however, evening the match at 1-1. Tippett had a huge set for UCA, tallying six digs and five kills, while Anderson added three kills and three blocks and Harry had five kills.

The Sugar Bears would storm out of the break between the second and third sets, building an 11-4 lead and would push that advantage to eight at 19-11. Despite a short 3-1 run from the Cowgirls, the Sugar Bears would roll to a 2-1 lead in the match, capping the set with a kill from Allen. UCA would hit a blazing .423 in the set, as Elizabeth Armstrong handed out 13 assists to six different players. Allen picked up six kills on six swings in the set, while Tippett chipped in with three and Harry had three.

UCA would again open a lead early in the fourth set, capping an 8-3 run with an ace from Amanda Dimon, but the Cowgirls would again battle back, using a 5-1 run to even the set at 14-14. The Sugar Bears would then go on a run of their own, earning eight of the next 10 points to go up 22-16. McNeese would try to rally again, cutting the UCA lead to 23-19, but back-to-back kills from Armstrong and Tippett closed out the match. Anderson led the UCA attack in the set, adding five kills to her total, but it was the UCA defense that locked things up, with Allen picking up three blocks, Nash adding two, and Dimon, Armstrong, Tippett, and Emily Doss all digging at least four Cowgirl attacks.

Allen would collect her first career double-double on the night, collecting a match-high 14 kills and 10 blocks, while Tippett also had a double-double with 10 kills and a team-high 14 digs. Anderson contributed all over the court, with 12 kills, seven blocks, and six digs, and Harry added 11 kills and three blocks. Armstrong  keyed the UCA attack, handing out 46 assists to go along eight digs and five kills. Defensively, three Sugar Bears reached double-digit digs in addition to Tippett, with Doss and Dimon each picking up 12 and Rayna Jefferis adding 10.

Central Arkansas will return to action at 2:30 PM tomorrow afternoon, taking on either third-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi or sixth-seeded Sam Houston State. The winner of the match will advance to the Championship match, which will begin at 3:05 PM on Sunday afternoon.