CONWAY – The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears ended Central Arkansas Invitational play in lukewarm fashion as they defeated the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles 3-2 and later fell to the Little Rock Trojans 3-1. The Sugar Bears (5-5) spent the morning in Conway and ended the night in Little Rock as they dropped the Governor's I-40 Showdown matchup at the Jack Stephens Center. The win awarded Little Rock three points and trimmed Central Arkansas' overall lead to 5.5 - 4.5.
 
Senior Abbie Harry went home with All-Tournament honors for the Sugar Bears as she finished the weekend with 56 kills and 19 digs.
 
UCA 3, ORU 2
 
The Sugar Bears were on full attack against the Golden Eagles as they recorded 10+ kills per set and outkilled Oral Roberts on the morning 72-54. Harry led Central Arkansas with 22 kills while redshirt-junior Amanda Beaton and sophomore Madi Bowles contributed 18 and 16. Senior Elizabeth Armstrong led both sides at the net with 48 assists while junior Emily Doss lead her team defensively with 18 digs.
 
SET 1 – After 10 points of back and forth play, the Golden Eagles created the first separation of the game after a 5-0 spurt made it 10-5. Oral Roberts held Central Arkansas in check throughout the remainder of the set and would not let them get closer than three. The Sugar Bears attempted a run toward the end after an Oral Roberts attack error made it 23-20, but back-to-back Central Arkansas errors awarded the Golden Eagles the 25-20 win.
 
SET 2 – The second set saw a complete flip as the Sugar Bears broke away after the first 12 points went back and forth. Beaton broke the tight play after two of her 12 match kills jumpstarted a 6-2 run that made it 18-12 Sugar Bears. The Golden Eagles attempted to make a late run after a 4-0 spurt pulled them within three, but a kill from sophomore Lexi Miller and Oral Roberts attack error gave the Sugar Bears the 25-20 win.
 
SET 3 – The Sugar Bears provided their strongest offensive performance in the third set as they finished with a set-high 19 kills. The first 20 points were tightly contested for as eight ties were recorded. After a Bowles kill made it 18-18, the Golden Eagles went on a crucial 5-0 run and took a strong 23-18 advantage. Instead of crumbling, the Sugar Bears got the Conway crowd to their feet as they got back-to-back kills from Bowles and three straight Harry kills to win the set 26-24 and shock the Golden Eagles.
 
SET 4 – The Golden Eagles responded well to the set-three thriller and jumped out to an early 8-4 lead. The Sugar Bears would pull within one after back-to-back kills from Beaton, but Oral Roberts immediately responded with a 4-0 run to lead 15-10. The Golden Eagles helped the Sugar Bears back in it though as they delivered three straight errors that capped a 5-0 response that tied it at 15-all. After five ties occurred over the next 12 points, the Golden Eagles converted three straight kills that was enough to take the 25-22 win.
 
SET 5 – The Sugar Bears jumped out to a quick 3-1 lead thanks to back-to-back Harry kills. The Golden Eagles wasted no time in tying it though as they got two quick points and both sides battled as three ties occurred over the next six points. The tide shifted for Central Arkansas as kills from Beaton and Armstrong broke the tie and made it 8-5. The set was decided a few points later as Beaton and Bowles delivered kills and made it 12-7. The Golden Eagles attempted to stay alive after a Sugar Bear error pulled them within three at 13-10, but Central Arkansas officially closed the door as kills from Bowles and Harry ended the match.
 
UCA 1, TROJANS 3
 
The Sugar Bears struggled offensively in the nightcap against the Trojans as they recorded 29 attack errors and 13 service errors. Beaton led the Sugar Bear offense with a season-high 19 kills while Harry contributed 14. Junior Bailey Waddington and Armstrong returned to setter-tandem duties as they combined for 46 assists on the night.
 
SET 1 – The Sugar Bears struggled early as the Trojans jumped out to a 6-0 lead off of four Central Arkansas errors. Little Rock had full control of the match until Central Arkansas went on a late 4-0 run to tie it at 20-all. The Sugar Bears grabbed their first lead of the set after an Armstrong kill made it 23-22, but the Trojans responded with a 3-0 run to take the 25-23 win.
 
SET 2 -- The first 12 points of the second set were a set of runs as the Trojans jumped out to an early 5-1 advantage that was combatted by a 6-2 Sugar Bear run that tied it at 7-7. Several points later, Beaton converted back-to-back kills that gave her team the 16-13 advantage. Although the Trojans responded with a 3-0 spurt to tie it, the Sugar Bears closed the set on a 9-4 run off of kills from five different players to win it 25-20.
 
SET 3 – After six ties were recorded within the first 24 points, the first separation of the set was created by Little Rock as they converted a 5-1 run to lead 17-13. The Sugar Bears clawed back after a Bowles kill and Trojan attack error made it 18-17, but Little Rock was not phased as they closed the set on a 7-3 run to go up 2-1.
 
SET 4 – The Trojans rode the energetic home crowd into set four and quickly grabbed a 6-1 lead. The Sugar Bears would not threaten them until point 31 as they got a couple Little Rock errors and Harry kill to only trail 18-16. Much like the prior set, the Trojans stayed firm and ended the Sugar Bears night with a 7-4 run to win 25-20.
 
UP NEXT
 
The Sugar Bears will look to regroup during the week before traveling to Edwardsville, Illinois for their fourth straight tournament starting on September 20.