Conway – The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears, one of just two Southland Conference Teams to make every Southland Tournament since 2010, look to continue that streak in the 2017 season, which kicks off on Friday. The Sugar Bears will turn to an experienced core and the postseason experience they've gained in the past two years under the guidance of head coach Jeni Jones Chatman to accomplish that goal.

Central Arkansas, which earned the fifth seed in last season's SLC Tournament and made it to the tournament semifinals enter the 2017 season with just one senior. That belies how experienced UCA truly is though, as the Sugar Bears feature five juniors and five sophomores, seven of whom played at least 50 sets for UCA last season.

"I think our starting point this year in the preseason has been way different that our starting point the previous two seasons," said Chatman of UCA's experience entering the year. "I think with what we were able to do at the end of last season, and what we were able to accomplish in practice has really set us up to be in a great spot to start this season. Just like with any program, I think the biggest thing for us is, can we stay healthy? I know that every coach battles that, and I think that it's going to be one of our biggest battles this year"

Offensively, the Sugar Bears return almost all of their output from last season, led by juniors Haley Tippett and Samantha Anderson and senior Megan Nash. In 2016, Tippett and Anderson tied for the team lead with 317 kills each, with Tippett sitting ninth in the Southland with 2.83 kills per set and Anderson sitting 10^th with 2.81 kills per set. Nash meanwhile, gave the Sugar Bears a three-headed monster in the attack, totaling 261 kills and finishing sixth in the league with a hitting percentage of .287. Chatman also expects juniors Savanah Allen (62 kills, .297 hitting % in 56 sets) and Kellen Dunn (187 kills, 2.08 K/S in 90 sets) to contribute on offense. Tying it all together will be sophomore Elizabeth Armstrong, who finished her freshman campaign sitting sixth in the conference with an average of 9.30 assists per set.

"I feel like we've still got that three-headed monster, but that we've added two more heads to it," said Chatman. "Savanah has had a great year of training, from what she's gained in experience in match play from last fall, but also the experience in training this spring, she's a force to be reckoned with. She has some natural athletic gifts, but she's found a way to fine-tune them. And when I think of Kellen, I think of efficiency. She's not a high-error kid, she's going to find a way to keep the ball in play on an out of system play. And Abbie Harry got a lot of experience playing beach for us, and she's had a great spring and a really nice preseason. Amanda Beaton has come a long way since last year, in the way that she's moving and getting her feet to the ball and her swing has become a lot smarter, so I'm excited that we have that depth in the attackers.

"I think the main part of having that multi-headed monster goes back to our setting department," continued Chatman. "Elizabeth I think, just like so many players in our program, has grown leaps and bounds in her positional skillwork. She is relentless when it comes to training, so I can't give her enough credit. And our freshman setter, Bailey Waddington, has done a nice job of transitioning into our philosophy and training. You've got to have a great quarterback in that setter position, to keep things organized and help get us back in system, and I think both EB and Bailey are doing a good job of that."

Defensively, the Sugar Bears continued the blocking renaissance that they began during Chatman's first season at the helm, ranking third in the league with an average of 2.31 blocks per set. Nash sat third in the league with 1.16 blocks per set, while Allen added 1.0 block per set and Anderson chipped in 0.91.

"The biggest thing when we talk about our blocking, is getting organized," said Chatman. "Yes in a perfect world, we'd love to have stuff blocks every time. The biggest thing we talk to our blockers about is that they are responsible for getting the backcourt organized, and that comes from them doing their job. That doesn't always mean getting a stuff block or a closed block, but if our blockers are doing what they're supposed to be doing, then we're going to get blocks and we're going to channel balls to areas that we want the ball in.

One area where Chatman expects the Central Arkansas defense to improve is in serve receive and first ball passing, an area where the Sugar Bears struggled at times in 2016.

"I feel like our team serve receive has gotten better, from our passing bigs and outside hitters," said Chatman. "To put it all on our littles last year would, I think, be unfair, because it's about great communication and trust, and I think that's an area where we grew a huge amount in the spring. We did add one defensive player, in Emily Doss, that I think has melded in extremely well. As a defensive department, I think the reps they put in during the spring and even on their own during the summer, have been huge."

Chatman is also expecting some changes in her coaching staff to help make a difference for the Sugar Bears this season. Former assistant coach John Newberry is back for a second term of service, and three-time Southland Conference Setter of the Year Marissa Collins also joins the Central Arkansas coaching staff.

"It's very different, but different isn't always bad, it can be really good," said Chatman. "When we hired Marissa, we wanted a coach specifically for our setting department, and who better to bring in than a Conference Player of the Year and someone who bleeds purple and gray? She may have limited coaching experience, but I've been truly impressed by how she's run her training with not only the setting department, but also her big-picture view of team dynamics and match flow. I've been very impressed by how she's approached things and by some of the comments she's made to individual players.

"When Matt left, the timing was atypical, but John has been a great addition," said Chatman. "Some of our juniors knew John from being recruited to play here, so when it was announced that he would be coming in, it was a level of relief, because there was a level of familiarity. He's super high-energy, and he's incredibly passionate about the sport and about UCA. I feel like we've got some great people on staff.

"Both John and Marissa are part of the reason that a lot of the banners we have are in our gym, so to have two people who were such a big part in the success that this program has had, so to have them back on our staff is huge. I've been a part of success like that as a player and as a coach at other universities, but to have two people that have been a part of that level of success here, speaks volumes. "

Central Arkansas opens the season this weekend in the Blue and White Classic, hosted by the University at Buffalo. The Sugar Bears will face Canisius at 11:00 AM Friday, and Hampton at 3:00 PM the same day, before closing out the weekend against Buffalo at 11:30 AM on Saturday. After that, UCA will be home for back-to-back weekend, hosting Little Rock, Memphis, and Tennessee-Martin for the UCA Invitational (Aug. 31-Sept. 2) and Arkansas State, Southern, and Central Florida for the UCA Classic (Sept. 7-9). A trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma for Oral Roberts' Golden Eagle Classic (Sept.15-16) will see the Sugar Bears face ORU, Wyoming, and Tulsa to close out the non-conference portion of their schedule.

"I love the fact that the schedule is set up where we get to have these non-conference tournaments," said Chatman. "The opportunity to get to face these teams that you wouldn't normally see, or are playing a different style of volleyball than you're used to seeing is a really great opportunity see where you kind of rank out nationally. And what we're doing in the non-conference portion sets us up for the conference schedule, which leads into the conference tournament. So all of those portions of the schedule are important to our season and helping us reach our goals."