CONWAY, Ark. – The red-hot Central Arkansas Sugar Bears were all smiles on Thursday night as they swept the UIW Cardinals 3-0 at the Prince Center for their sixth straight SLC win. The Sugar Bears (15-13, 9-6 SLC) performed well for the home crowd as they turned in 52 kills on a .296 hitting percentage while holding the Cardinals to a lowly .168 mark.
 
Senior Abbie Harry headlined the match with an offensive gem for Central Arkansas as she led both sides with 20 kills on a blazing .400 hitting %. Sophomore Madi Bowles and freshman Alexis Stumbough followed behind Harry with 9 kills each while senior Elizabeth Armstrong and junior Bailey Waddington combined for 47 assists on the night. Senior Rayna Jefferies and junior Emily Doss were a deadly defensive duo on the back line as both collected 16 digs and disrupted UIW's offensive flow.
 
SET ONE – Both teams came out sharp in the first set as seven ties were recorded within the first 16 points. The Sugar Bears created the first separation of the night as Harry turned in four kills and sparked an 8-1 run that gave the home team the 17-9 advantage. The Cardinals would pull within four late after a kill made it 22-18, but UIW would gift Central Arkansas three errors and award them the 25-20 win.
 
SET TWO – The second set had a similar feel to the first as both sides went back and forth in the first 18 points to make it 9-all. The Sugar Bears continued to ride Harry's arm at point 20 as she created a 3-1 run off kills and made it 13-10 Central Arkansas. UIW would pull within two after a Sugar Bear attack error made it 19-17, but Harry immediately responded with another kill and Central Arkansas grabbed five of the next nine points to win 25-21 and go up 2-0.
 
SET THREE – The third set was all Central Arkansas as they jumped out to a dominant 9-1 lead behind three kills from Bowles and two from Harry. After the Cardinals momentarily stopped the bleeding with a 3-0 spurt to pull within five, the Sugar Bears grabbed the next six as four UIW errors and kills from Armstrong and Stumbough made it 16-5. UIW fought to stay alive with the home crowd on its feet as they generated a 3-0 spurt to make it 24-16, but a kill from Sophomore Lexi Miller would be the final dagger as the Sugar Bears captured the sweep with a 25-16 win.
 
ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH MARISSA COLLINS ON THE WIN  
 
"It was a well-earned win tonight. The first time we played Incarnate Word at their place, it was early in the season and they battled well. Our goal tonight was to come out of the gate strong and shut them down quickly.
 
Abbie Harry was a huge offensive threat on the outside tonight putting up 20 kills. Many of our attackers were even across the board, which allowed us to diversify our offense and keep Incarnate on their toes. I'm really proud of our defense and the effort we displayed in the back row.
 
The whole team played as a unit and it showed in the third set when we were able to finish the game strong. That was our sixth win in a row and we plan to go for our seventh on Saturday."
 
UP NEXT
 
The Sugar Bears will look to close out their regular season on a seven-game winning streak on Saturday afternoon as they will host the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders at the Prince Center for Senior Day. The match is set to begin at 12 p.m.