CONWAY, Ark. - Central Arkansas volleyball continues their venture into the ASUN season as they make a quick road trip to Alabama to face North Alabama and Jacksonville State. 

Fresh off a sweep against Bellarmine, the Sugar Bears are ready to keep repairing a slow start as they face two squads on opposite sides of the ASUN standings. UNA is a team that has been unable to accumulate to their demanding schedule so far in the season as they are 6-13 and remain winless in ASUN play (0-6). That match will take place Friday at 7 p.m., and quickly after that, UCA will head nearly three hours Southeast to face JSU in Jacksonville, Ala, at 4 p.m. on Saturday.  The Gamecocks have been quite the opposite of the Lions as they are 15-4 and are first in the West Division at 5-1. 

While each opponent will take something different to top them, overall, the game plan is to run it through the middle. Heading that group is graduate student Amari Mitchell, who is fresh off of the ASUN Defensive Player of the Week Honor. Last week she posted 19 blocks with 2.38 blocks-per-set and continues to be dominant in recent weeks as she has posted five straight matches with at least five blocks. While she is the unit leader, there are multiple players to watch in the block department. This includes a trio of young talent as sophomore MB Macy Blackburn, freshman RS Mackenzie Vernon, and freshman MB Allison Holloway, all can take control of a match in a second. It is not just their ability to guard the block and dominate; it is their ability to flip the switch and gather kills in bunches as well. 

All four of these players will be essential in both of these matchups, as you never know what could happen in conference play. UNA has their own talent in the middle as they are led by their middle hitter Mattrice Harris, who has a knack for being all over the court in every aspect. Harris is fifth in the ASUN with a .313 hitting percentage as she has 101 kills and 45 blocks, and 11 digs to her credit. The junior has been keeping the Lions in most of their matches and will help push UNA in this crucial matchup. 

After the Sugar Bears battle the Lions, they will head to JSU to take on the Gamecocks less than 24 hours after. JSU is littered with talent in almost every position and has been tough to stop this season as they lead the conference with a .258 team hitting percentage. Leading that charge is outside hitter Lena Kindermann, who is fifth in the conference in kills with 225 and fourth in hitting percentage with a .343. This will be one of the toughest matches yet for the Sugar Bears as JSU is arguably the best team in the ASUN. 

Both of these matchups will be watchable on ESPN+ and will have live stats going through the duration of the matches. The links for these matches can be found on the schedule. Follow @ucavball on Twitter for constant updates during the matches and final scores throughout the season.