NEW ORLEANS, La. – It was an absolutely thrilling match Saturday morning between the University of Central Arkansas beach volleyball team and Houston Baptist in the semifinals of the Southland Conference Showcase at Digs Volleyball Complex.
Unfortunately, for UCA (7-11) they came out on the wrong end of a narrow setback dropping the match 2-3 to their conference rivals. The Beach Bears end the third season in the program's existence with national recognition, receiving votes in the latest AVCA national poll.
INDIVIDAL NOTES
- The duo of Kimmy Schnars and Jessica Martinez was reunited and excelled Saturday morning. The dispatched the Huskies' No. 3 pair 21-13, 21-18 in straight-order to earn the first UCA point.
- Kellen Dunn and Faith Hasness ended the season on a high note, taking down HBU's Conley Harris and Maddie Butters 21-10, 17-21, 15-12.
- Haley Tippett wrapped up her UCA career with 41 career victories, despite her and partner Colene Hamilton falling in this one 16-21, 16-21. She concludes her tenure in Conway as the winningest UCA Beach Volleyballer in program history.
- In the most highly contested match of the morning, Aly Brinkley and Mackenzie Dear narrowly missed extending their win streak to four with a 19-21. 28-26, 10-15 three-set loss in the No. 2 pairing.
- The Huskie couple of Danielle Wheeler and Meagan Carter proved to be too much as they took down the UCA No. 5 combination of Kelsie Sager and Kelly Douglas 18-21, 14-21.
- In the extra match, Kayla Cook and Hailey Weber dropped a 8-21, 10-21 result to HBU's Kylie Bryan and Lindsay Harris.
QUOTING HC JENI JONES CHATMAN
On the SLC Showcase:
"I am really proud of the fight and finish we had on day two and three of the tournament," Jones Chatman said. "We saw some of our pairs really excel when the pressure was put on them and they rose to the occasion."
On the senior class:
"It's always hard when the season ends," said Jones Chatman. "Especially with this group of seniors. Our program over the past three years would not be where it is and where it has been without the contributions from this senior class."
On the future of the program:
"With the young roster and the addition of a strong freshmen class, we will look forward to our offseason training to better our skill work , IQ of the game and mentality."
FOLLOW THE BEACH BEARS
To keep up with the latest recruiting and off-season news, follow the Beach Bears on Twiiter @UCABeachVB and on Instagram @UCABeachVBall.
