Conway – The Central Arkansas took to the sand at the Beach Bear Sand Courts for the final time in 2018 on Saturday morning, wrapping up play in the 2018 Beach Bear Classic. The day, which was a celebration of the careers of seniors Delaney Driver, Kristine Hjembo, Shelby Holmes, Megan Nash, Stephanie Pollnow, and MC Rogers, ended with a pair of wins for the Beach Bears, who swept Austin Peay 5-0 and edged out ULM 3-2.

Central Arkansas (12-5) turned in a strong performance against Austin Peay (7-12) earning the sixth sweep of the season. Mackenzie Dear and Holmes opened the day for UCA, rebounding from an 18-21 loss in the first set of their number five match against Ashley Slay and Cori Theiss to take the second 21-11 and the third 15-7 to put the Bears on the board, before Rogers and Driver added a 21-12, 21-7 victory over Kaylee Taff and Chloe Stitt in the number four match.

Hjembo and Colene Hamilton got the second half started for Central Arkansas with a22-20, 21-8 win in the number three match against Brooke Moore and Claire Darland, while Kimberly Schnars and Pollnow earned their eighth win of the season with a 21-15, 17-21, 15-10 victory over Jenna Panning and Haley Turner at the number two position. Nash and Haley Tippett then closed out the match for the Beach Bears, scoring a 21-14, 21-15 victory over Ginny Gerig and Cecily Gable.

The day's second match saw Central Arkansas sweep the first half, as Dear and Holmes dispatched Alix Christie and McKenna Webster for their 12^th win of the season, and Driver and Rogers put UCA on the board with a 21-9, 21-13 defeat of Holland Ponthieux and Allie Kemp in the number five match to move to 11-6 on the year. Hjembo and Hamilton sent the Bears to the break leading 2-0, scoring a 22-20, 21-15 victory against Bailey Smith and Taylor Meyer and improving to 15-2 for the season.

The Warhawks (7-12) storm out of the gates in the second half, evening the match at 2-2 thanks to a 22-20, 15-21, 15-11 win from Cat Griffith and Becca Brown at the number threes and a 24-26, 21-19, 15-13 win from Kayla Gallant and Maile Sellars over Aly Brinkley and Jessica Martinez at the twos, before Nash and Tippett closed things out in favor of the Bears at the top spot, winning a marathon match against Gabby Love and Grace Convey by a final count of 21-11, 27-29, 15-11 for their 12^th win of the season.

The matches closed out the home portion of the 2018 schedule for Central Arkansas, who wraps up the year next weekend in Houston, Texas at the Southland Conference Showcase. The Showcase will pit the Southland's five beach volleyball programs against each other in a mock-conference tournament. The weekend's action will begin with the teams all playing for seeding on Friday, before playing a double-elimination bracket on Saturday and Sunday.