Thibodaux, Louisiana – The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears closed the 2018 regular season in dominant fashion on Saturday morning, picking up their 15^th sweep of the season 25-13, 25-17, 25-11. Haley Tippett turned in a solid all-around performance, with 14 kills, six digs, three blocks, and three aces, while Samantha Anderson continued her hot streak with 11 kills on a .688 attack percentage.

After Nicholls (3-26, 1-15 SLC) took two of the first three points to open the first set, Central Arkansas (24-5, 14-2 SLC) took control of the set, winning eight of the next nine points to take a 9-3 lead. The Sugar Bears would get runs of 4-0 and 5-0 later in the set, before a kill from Tippett gave them a 1-0 lead. Tippett and Anderson each collected four kills in the set, while Amanda Dimon had four aces and three digs.

The second set saw the Colonels again take an early lead, going up 3-2, but UCA responded with a kill from Anderson, an ace from Alanna Bramwell, and a kill from Savanah Allen to take the lead at 5-3. Nicholls would keep the difference at two points briefly, but Central Arkansas used a 5-1 run to create separation and take a 14-8 lead. A 5-0 run pushed the advantage to 21-11, before the Colonels earned three consecutive points to cut it to 21-14. That would be as close as Nicholls could make it however, as UCA got a kill from Tippett and an ace from Dimon to close the set. Central Arkansas hit .379 in the set, getting five kills from Tippett and four each from Anderson and Allen.

Continuing the trend established in the first two frames, Nicholls got a kill from Sydney Swann to take a 1-0 lead, before Central Arkansas again responded, taking four of the next five points. A 6-0 run, capped by a termination from Bramwell, pushed the UCA lead to 14-5, and another 6-0 run made it 21-7 Central Arkansas. The sides would trade points the rest of the way, with an acer from Tippett closing the match. Tippett tallied five kills and four digs in the set, while Central Arkansas got eight assists and three digs from Bailey Waddington.

In addition to big days from Tippett and Anderson, UCA got six kills, three digs, and three blocks from Bramwell, and six aces and eight digs from Dimon.

Central Arkansas finishes the regular season with the second-best record in the Southland Conference, but await the announcement of the bottom four seeds in next week's SLC Tournament after review of tie-breaker scenarios. The tournament, which is hosted by Northwestern State in Natchitoches, Louisiana, begins on Friday, with the semifinals set for Saturday and the championship match set for 3:05 PM on Sunday.