Coastal Carolina Box |
ULM Box
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Central Arkansas beach volleyball team was back on the courts for the first day of the Blazer Beach Bash hosted by UAB on Friday. The Beach Bears fell to 15-13 after a morning loss to Coastal Carolina, but bounced back to win the second match against ULM and improved to 16-13 on the season.
Match One – Coastal Carolina 3, UCA 2
Bria Garmon and
Shannon Stone gave UCA an early 1-0 lead as they defeated Emma Gonzalez and Kalin Eske 21-9 and 21-19 in the No. 5 position.
Faith Hasness and
Payton Sproule kept the momentum going for the Beach Bears as they knocked off Carli Ginther and Ellie Hanford 21-13 and 21-15 in the No. 4 pairing.
The Sandy Chants got on the board as Sarah Riedell and Kendra Lukacs won by forfeit against
Makenna Schmitt and
Julia Oravec due to an injury. Irena Drobnjak and Sarlota Svbodova bested the tandem of
Evelyn Griffith and
Colene Hamilton in the No. 1 spot, 21-19 and 21-11.
Aly Brinkley and
Kelsie Sager and Lucy Campbell and Martine Kragholm battled in a tightly-contest first set as the UCA duo came out on top with a 28-26 victory. The tables turned in the second set as the Coastal Carolina pair won 21-15 to force a third and decisive set. Campbell and Kragholm went on to take the third set 17-15 and secured the 3-2 victory for the Sandy Chants.
Match Two – UCA 3, ULM 2
Holland Ponthieux and Ina Gosen put the Warhawks up early in the match as they bested Schmitt and
Annie Berry in the No. 4 matchup, 21-14 and 21-10.
Elizabeth Moreland and Brooke Hoven won the first set of the No. 5 match, 21-16. The UCA pair of Stone and Garmon were resilient and battled to win the second set 23-21. In the third and final set, Stone and Garmon used the momentum from the second and went on to win 15-12 as they tied the overall match at 1-1.
ULM went back on top 2-1 as Audrey Brooks and Julia Blazek bested Griffith and Hamilton 21-16 in both sets in the No. 1 spot.
Sproule and Hasness won the opening set of the No. 3 position 21-8 against Anna Demmer and Katie McKay. Demmer and McKay answered with a 23-21 second-set victory to send the match to a third set. Sproule and Hasness were unfazed and refocused to win the third set 15-13.
The match was tied at 2-2 and everything came down to the No. 2 pairing. Sager and Brinkley claimed a 21-15 first-set victory against Kayla Gallant and Abigail Elder. Gallant and Elder responded with a 21-18 victory in the second set. Sager and Brinkley regained their composure and went on to win the third set 15-11 to clinch the 3-2 match victory for the Beach Bears.
UCA returns to the Blazer Beach Courts for day two of the Blazer Beach Bash on Saturday. Central Arkansas opens the day against Mercer at 8 a.m. followed by a match with UAB at 2 p.m.
UCA's tournament schedule is listed below. There will not be any live stats or video, so be sure to follow the Beach Bears on social media.
From the Coach – Head Coach Autumn Erickson
"I feel really good about the way we played today. We lost a close match to Coastal Carolina and had to make some changes against ULM due to an injury, but we bounced back mentally to secure the win. We had a ton of energy from our sidelines and that really helps carry our momentum. I'm looking forward to more tough competition tomorrow. Go Beach Bears!"
Saturday, April 17
8 a.m. Central Arkansas vs. Mercer
2 p.m. Central Arkansas vs. UAB
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