CONWAY, Ark. – The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears had no answers for the SLC-leading Ladyjacks of Stephen F. Austin (21-1, 9-0 SLC) on Thursday night as they fell 3-0 at the Prince Center. The Sugar Bears (9-13, 3-6 SLC) nearly snapped the Ladyjacks 11-straight sweep mark in set three as they held the late 23-21 lead, but a 5-1 Stephen F. Austin finish kept the streak intact.
 
Senior Abbie Harry led the Central Arkansas offense with a match-high 15 kills while sophomores Lexi Miller and Madi Bowles followed behind with eight each. The setting duo of junior Bailey Waddington and senior Elizabeth Armstrong combined for 34 assists while junior Emily Doss led both sides defensively with 9 digs.
 
SET ONE – The Ladyjacks jumped out to an early 6-1 advantage and never looked back. The Sugar Bears made things interesting at point 38 as Miller delivered back-to-back kills to pull Central Arkansas within four at 21-17, but the Ladyjacks responded with a 4-1 spurt to secure set one.
 
SET TWO – The Sugar Bears attempted to shift the momentum by grabbing the first three points of set two, but the Ladyjacks countered with a 7-1 run to take the 7-4 lead and would never trail again. After a Miller kill made it 11-7, Stephen F. Austin ballooned their lead to eight after a 7-2 run made it 18-9. The Sugar Bears would pull within seven after kills from Bowles and junior Amari Mitchell made it 19-12, but the Ladyjacks grabbed six of the next eight points to win 25-14.
 
SET THREE – The third set had a different feel as the Sugar Bears battled the Ladyjacks through the entire set and brought the packed Prince crowd to life. After six ties opened the first 16 points of the set, the Sugar Bears created the first separation off the arm of Harry as she delivered four kills in a 7-0 run to lead 15-8. Stephen F. Austin fought their way back at point 33 as they delivered back-to-back service aces and got a kill to pull within one at 18-17. The Sugar Bears seemed to be on their way to set four as Harry converted two kills in three points to grant her team the late 23-21 advantage, but the Ladyjacks took the next three points off back-to-back Central Arkansas errors and eventually took the 26-24 win to complete the sweep.
 
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The Sugar Bears will look to grab SLC win No. 4 on Saturday afternoon as they will welcome the Abilene Christian Wildcats to the Prince Center at 12 p.m.