NEW ORLEANS, La. – ­On the final day of the 2019 regular season, the University of Central Arkansas beach volleyball team picked up a pair of wins to advance to the championship tournament, taking down both Abilene Christian and Nicholls Friday at Digs Volleyball Complex. The Bears dropped a decision to Houston Baptist early Saturday morning to round out the marathon day at the beach.

With just four of the six teams competing qualifying for the championship round, UCA (7-10) earned the No. 4 seed and will take on No. 1 Houston Baptist tomorrow at 11 a.m. in an attempt to keep its season alive. The winner of the UCA/HBU game will take on the winner of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and New Orleans in the championship match at 1:15 p.m.

UCA 5, ABILENE CHRISTIAN 0
 

• Haley Tippett picked up career win No. 40 (the most in program history) as her and Colene Hamilton took down the ACU No. 1 pairing in a 21-9, 21-8 rout.
• The consistent No. 2 duo of Aly Brinkley and Mackenzie Dear dispatched the Wildcats' Hunter Barker and Mackenzie Harris 21-19, 21-13.
• Elleson Dunagin and Jessica Martinez needed three sets, but ultimately picked up the thrilling 21-11, 16-21, 15-12 win over Abilene Christian's No. 3 pair.
• Senior Kellen Dunn and freshman Faith Hasness continued their hot play with a 21-16, 21-12 victory over ACU's Marybeth Sandercox and Brittney Roberts.
• The Bear No. 5 pair Kelsie Sager and Kelly Douglas completed the sweep with a 21-10, 21-15 triumph over the Wildcats.
• In one of the most lopsided wins of the season, Kimmy Schnars and Hailey Weber easily succeeded in the extra match 21-3, 21-14.

HOUSTON BAPTIST 3, UCA 1
 

• Dear and Brinkley improved to 2-0 on the day with a 23-21, 21-17 victory of HBU's Bailey Banks and Natalie Bennett in the No. 2 pairing.
• The Tippett/Hamilton combination dropped a 13-21, 16-21 decision against what has become one of UCA's biggest rivals in the Huskies' Tori Hinojosa and Aerial Horton.
• Dunn and Hasness fell by a final tally of 17-21, 13-21 to Houston Baptist's Conley Harris and Maddie Butters.
• The Sager/Douglas duo also dropped a hard-fought 17-21, 16-21 match in the No. 5 pairings to close out the match.
• Dunagin and Martinez were leading in the second set of their match when the contest was decided, leaving that particular match, along with with Kayla Cook and Weber's match, unfinished.

UCA 4, NICHOLLS 0
 

• Tippett and Hamilton dominated to close out the day with a 21-8, 21-11 victory over the Colonels' No. 1 pair.
• The lethal combination of Dear and Brinkley completed a perfect day with a 21-12, 21-16 win over Nicholls' Kylie Lockhart and Emily Gauthreaux.
• Dunn and Hasness picked up a decisive 21-10, 21-9 over Sydney Swann and Aaliyah Burras to clinch the match in the No. 3 pairing.
• Sager and Douglas helped complete the win with 21-11, 21-14 victory in the No. 5 pairing.
• The Dunagin/Martinez and Schnars/Cook match each resulted in an unfinished decision.

 
TOURNAMENT TIME

The Bears will take on Houston Baptist tomorrow in the semifinals round beginning at 11:00 a.m. To follow the action, check out the UCA Beach Volleyball program on Twitter @UCABeachVB or on Instagram @UCABeachVBall.