CONWAY – The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears (4-3) will continue tournament play this weekend in front of the Conway faithful for the first time all year as the team will compete in the Central Arkansas Invitational at the Farris Center. The Sugar Bears will be busy all weekend with matches against the Ole Miss Rebels on Friday night at 6:30, the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles on Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. and conclude play that night with the Little Rock Trojans in a Governors I-40 Showdown matchup in Little Rock at 7 p.m.
 
MEET THE OLE MISS REBELS  
 
The Ole Miss Rebels (3-3) reside in Oxford, Mississippi and will be competing against the Sugar Bears for just the second time in program history. The first and only date between the two schools came on September 10, 2011 as the Rebels defeated the Sugar Bears 3-0 in Oxford. Associate Head Coach Marissa Collins led the team in assists that match with 23. Ole Miss will enter invitational play fresh off three straight wins in New Orleans as part of the AllState Sugar Bowl Collegiate Volleyball Classic last weekend. The Rebels got win No. 1 of the tournament against Southland Conference foe Houston Baptist 3-0. The Rebels are coached by former Sugar Bear Head Coach Steven McRoberts who spent five years in Conway from 2005-10 and left with a 146-58 record.
 
The SEC squad currently boasts conference-best marks in digs with 365 and 15.87 per set. Senior Nicole Purcell leads the SEC in digs with 114 and ranks second in digs per set with 4.96 in 23 sets played. The team is also headlined by the outside hitting duo of senior Emily Stroup and freshman Anna Bair who each took All-Tournament honors last weekend while Stroup was named MVP after recording 42 kills in three matches. Bair finished the weekend with a hot .420 hitting percentage and 35 kills.
 
MEET THE ORAL ROBERTS GOLDEN EAGLES
 
The Oral Roberts Golden Eagles (4-5) reside in Tulsa, Oklahoma and will battle the Sugar Bears for the thirteenth time in program history. Both sides will be looking to take an edge in the all-time series as the record currently sits at 6-6 while the Sugar Bears took the last matchup in 2017 with a 3-0 win. The Golden Eagles will enter invitational play after dropping four of their last five matches, including losses to Tulsa and Air Force. Their offense is led by senior CeCe Madison as she boasts 3.71 kills per set and has recorded a double-double in five straight matches, including a career-high 25 kills against the SMU Mustangs on September 5. Her stellar play earned her back-to-back All-Tournament team honors to start the year. Redshirt-sophomore libero Sarah Thiessen has helped her squad to the second-most digs mark in the NCAA this season as she leads the team with 154 digs and 4.40 per set in 29 sets played.
 
 MEET THE LITTLE ROCK TROJANS
 
The Little Rock Trojans (0-6) will be seeking their first win in Conway this weekend as they have struggled in their first two tournaments on the year. The Saturday night Governor's I-40 Showdown primetime match will be the Trojans first home match of the year and it will mark the fourth event in the showdown, with Central Arkansas leading 5.5-1.5. The Little Rock squad is led by a trio of seniors, including libero Diana Giordani who leads the team in digs with 72 and 4 per set through 18 sets played.
 
PARKING FOR SATURDAY'S MATCHES 
 
With the football Bears playing their first game at home on Saturday, parking for volleyball matches will be in the two lots behind the baseball stadium.
 
KEEP UP WITH THE SUGAR BEARS
 
You can follow all three of the Sugar Bear matches this weekend via live stats linked for each match here and live video here. The match against the Trojans will also have a video feed that will require a payment. Follow the team on Twitter @ucavball to keep up with all in-game updates.