Buffalo, New York – The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears opened the 2017 season on the road on Friday afternoon, travelling to Buffalo, New York to face off with Canisius and Hampton in the Buffalo Invite. UCA was dominant on the day, holding the Griffins and Lady Pirates to a combined .126 attack percentage en route to a pair of 3-0 wins.

Canisius (0-1) jumped out to a 7-5 lead in the first set, before a kill from Samantha Anderson started a 6-0 run that put the Sugar Bears (2-0) in front 11-7 and forced a timeout from the Griffins. Canisius would cut the lead to 13-12, prompting a timeout from UCA, and would even things at 13-13 with a service ace in the first point out of the break. That would be it for the Griffins in the set though, as Central Arkansas would take 12 of the next 15 points to grab a 1-0 lead in the match with a 25-16 set victory. Haley Tippett would collect six kills in the set, and Anderson would add five as the Sugar Bears hit .355. Defensively, Megan Nash, Amanda Dimon, and Emily Doss would all pick up five digs, helping to limit Canisius to an attack percentage of just .027.

The second set would see the sides trade points early and often, until a late Sugar Bears run again put things out of reach. With the set tied at 15-15, UCA would take advantage of a Canisus attack error to go on a 10-2 run to take the set 25-17 and extend the match lead to 2-0. Elizabeth Armstrong would pass out nine assists in the set, and gather a team-high four digs, while Tippett and Anderson each posted three kills and Nash and Savanah Allen each added two.

Central Arkansas would grab a 9-6 lead in the third set before using a 7-4 streak to force a timeout from the Griffins. Canisuis would battle back, cutting the UCA lead to 19-15 and causing the Sugar Bears to take a timeout of their own, before a 6-1 run from UCA would close out the match thanks to a 25-16 win in the set. Armstrong added 14 assists to her tally as Anderson and Nash picked up five kills, while Doss had six digs.

For the match, Tippet and Anderson each tallied a match-high 12 kills, as four Sugar Bears hit over .300.  Armstrong collected a double-double on the day, dishing out a match-high 36 assists and tying for the match high in digs with 12, while Doss also added 12 digs. Nash chipped in with seven kills, seven digs, and three blocks, while Kellen Dunn added five kills and two blocks and Allen collected six kills and three digs.

The day's second match saw Central Arkansas open on fire, jumping out to an 11-2 lead to force a Lady Pirate timeout in the first set. The stoppage would do nothing to slow the Sugar Bears though, as they would hit .412 in the set and limit Hampton to a -.182 percentage. Nash and Abbie Harry led the way offensively, with each tallying three kills, while Armstrong handed out nine assists.

The second saw the Sugar Bears again open strongly, grabbing a 12-2 lead before fending off a furious Hampton rally late in the set to push their lead to 2-0 in the match with a 25-18 win in the set. Harry hit a blistering .714 in the set, adding five kills to her total, while Dimon delivered four service aces.

The third set proved more competitive, with the teams playing to an 11-11 draw before UCA took control with a 14-4 run to take the set 25-15 and close out the match. Tippett picked up a set-high eight kills as Armstrong had eight assists and Bailey Waddington added six assists and digs.

For the match, Harry let the way with 12 kills behind a .500 hitting percentage, while Tippett chipped in with nine kills and a team-high six digs. Armstrong handed out 21 assists and Waddington dished out 13. Defensively, the Sugar Bears got three blocks from Anderson and two from Nash.

The Sugar Bears close out the weekend at 11:30 AM, taking on host Buffalo.