Franklin, Tennessee – The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears returned to action for the second day of the program's first-ever tournament looking to build on a pair of wins. Central Arkansas was able to do just that, adding another pair of sweeps over Missouri Baptist and Austin Peay to close out the APSU Governors Beach Duals with a perfect 4-0 record.
Central Arkansas (4-0) opened the day with a convincing 5-0 win over Missouri Baptist (5-4).
Abbie Harry and
Amy South opened the No. 5 match by building a 7-2 lead in the first set and cruised to a 21-13 win before completing their sweep of Amanda Thibodeaux and Megan Williams with a 23-21 win in the second set.
Kellen Dunn and
Mackenzie Dear opened the No. 4 match against Natalie Hecht and Kelly Hughes with a 21-14 win in the first set, before dominating the second set for a 21-7 win; while
Kristine Hjembo and
MC Rogers turned an 8-4 lead into a 21-11 first set win before closing out their No. 3 match against Kelly Wilson and Sarah Bolton with a 21-18 win in the second set.
Heather Schnars and
Kate Elman took the first set of the No. 2 match against Kamden Maas and Caterina Cigarini 21-18 before securing the sweep with a 21-9 win in the second set.
Stephanie Pollnow and
Haley Tippett took the first set of the No. 1 match 21-10, but the Spartan's Hannah Carey and Jen Brendel rebounded to take the second set 19-21. That would be all the Missouri Baptist could muster though, as Pollnow and Tippett rallied to take the third set 15-8.
Against the Governors (3-10) Harry and South turned a 9-7 lead into a 22-20 first set victory before APSU's Ashley Slay and Alexandria Thornton built a 14-13 lead in the second set. Harry and South would rally though, picking up the 25-23 win. Dunn and Dear built a 12-7 lead in the No. 4 match against Allie O'Reilly and Kaylee Taff before exploding for a 21-8 first set win and following it up with a 21-16 victory in the second set. Hjembo and Rogers edged out MiMi Arrington and Kaitlyn Teeter 21-17 in the first set of the No. 3 match, before taking the second set 21-6. Schnars and Elman rolled through the No. 2 match against Christina White and Jenna Panning, picking up a 21-12, 21-11 win, while Pollnow and Tippett took down Ginny Gerig and Kristen Stucker 21-12, 21-17
in the No. 1 match.
On the weekend, the Sugar Bears went a perfect 20-0 while dropping just one set.
"I'm really proud of the mentality and execution we had this weekend," said UCA head coach Jeni Jones Chatman."I felt we were good problem solvers, which allowed us to stay undefeated against some good teams. We're excited for our next opportunity to compete."
UCA will next head to Monroe, Louisiana to take part in ULM's Bayou Beach Bash on the weekend of March 31
st and April 1
st. Central Arkansas will face off with Houston Baptist and ULM on the 31
st, before taking on TCU and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on the first.