Franklin, Tennessee – The Central Arkansas beach volleyball program made its long-awaited debut on Friday morning. The Sugar Bears looked to be in midseason form though, picking up a pair of 5-0 wins in Austin Peay's Governors Beach Duals without dropping a set.
Central Arkansas (2-0) opened the day against Carson-Newman (0-1), and wasted little time in taking control of the first pair of matches to be played. The no. 5 match saw
Abbie Harry and
Amy South close the first set with a 13-4 run and not let up in the second set at they earned a 21-12, 21-7 win over Natalie Harris and Hannah Robertson, while in the no. 4 match,
Mackenzie Dear and
Kellen Dunn built an 11-3 lead in the first set and ended up with a 21-15, 21-6 win over Allie Foster and Morgan Ballard.
MC Rogers and
Kristine Hjembo built a 12-9 lead in the first set and outlasted Eileen Anderson and Alex Biro 24-22 before securing a sweep in the no. 3 match with a dominant 21-7 second set win, and the no. 2 match saw
Kate Elman and
Heather Schnars pick up UCA's fourth sweep up the match with a 21-17, 21-18 win over Marnie Streeter and Taylor Lowe.
Haley Tippett and
Stephanie Pollnow secure the clean sheet in the no. 1 match, taking down Anna Patton and Morgan Harlan 21-8, 21-10.
The Sugar Bears found themselves gifted a point in their match against UT-Martin (0-1) as the Skyhawks were unable to field a team at the no. 5 spot due to injuries. Central Arkansas earned its remaining four points in dominating fashion, allowing double-digit points in just one of the remaining eight sets. Dear and Dunn got things started at the no. 4 spot with a decisive 21-2, 21-6 win over Kelly Lean and Saphyr Coombs-James, while Hjembo and Rogers took a 21-18, 21-3 decision over Macy Reigelsperger and Jemima Idemudia in the no. 3 match. The rout continued in at the no. 2 spot, with Schnars and Elman defeating Rachel Noffsinger and Hayley Gray 21-9, 21-8, before Pollnow and Tippett sewed up the win with a 21-8, 21-6 win over Macy Catlett and Hannah Phillips in the no. 1 match.
"This group, staff included, is very honored to be a part of this inaugural season," said UCA head coach Jeni Jones Chatman following the match against UT-Martin. "I am very proud of the start we had today with the program. There were some unknowns going into today but several of those questions were answered by our players' ability to find ways to score, and to do so in a variety of ways. We are looking forward to opportunity to compete again tomorrow!"
The Sugar Bears return to action with a pair of matches tomorrow. UCA will take on Missouri Baptist at 9:00 AM tomorrow morning, before closing out the weekend against Austin Peay at 11:30 AM.
