CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Central Arkansas volleyball split their first day of the Redhawks Invitational as they bested Southern Illinois and lost to Tulsa.

While one of the matchups did not go their way, the Sugar Bears found plenty of success against SIU. They found their rhythm from the net in that match as they out-blocked the Salukis 11-1. Included in that amazing feat was graduate student Amari Mitchell with six, senior Madi Bowles with five, and freshman Allison Holloway with five. Holloway would grab four more against Tulsa, and Mitchell would grab three. While the match against the Golden Hurricanes was less successful, it allowed success at the net, as sophomore Anna Meyers grabbed three blocks. Meyers overall enjoyed a good day as she added 43 assists and 15 digs to her resume during the two matches. 

UCA vs. SIU

Set 1:

The Sugar Bears broke their streak of set losses as they flipped the switch to claim the first set. Behind the firepower of sophomore Alexis Stumbough, who had five kills, UCA was essentially unstoppable. They held onto the lead throughout the entire set as they made their path seem like a breeze till the end. The Sugar Bears battled in the early goings as they had two ties to begin their day, but after 3-3, it was UCAs time to shine. Freshman Mackenzie Vernon helped the cause by giving them the four-point lead with a kill, and then sophomore Lexie Gregory followed a few points later with a service ace that made it 11-6. That lead continued to grow but eventually fell back down as the Saluki's tied it at the latest point at 24-24. That only allowed UCA's stars to shine bigger as senior Lexi Miller and Stumbough finished it out with two straight kills to win the set 26-24. 

Set 2:

The second set built a different story, as SIU dominated in their 25-16 set victory. While it did not start that way, it did finish that way as once the score was tied 12-12, everything favored the Salukis. From that point, they outscored the Sugar Bears 13-4 as they tied the total match up at 1-1. 

Set 3:

UCA got off to a speedy start in the third as they forced SIU into an early timeout as they led 9-3. This set and run was the beginning of the most successful stint of the offense for the year as they posted a .280 hitting percentage, which eventually led to a .345 percentage in the fourth. However, in this set, it continued to show as battled to a strong 21-12 lead. That lead was powered by the hitting prowess of Vernon, who posted three of her eight kills in this set. That run would not be stopped as UCA found a way to dismantle the Salukis through their offensive firepower 25-16. 

Set 4:

As stated before, the fourth set was the Sugar Bears' best as they limited themselves to four errors but 14 successful kills. The biggest part of the rally was not the kills, though, as UCA was tied 6-6 before a kill by freshman Jamiryana Hall was followed by two massive service aces from sophomore Lexie Gregory. That set the foundation as momentum continued in this affair of top-tier competition. Those two aces set the spark, but Mitchell caused it to flame with a kill to put the Sugar Bears up 15-12. Four points later, UCA was in a prime position before Holloway, and an SIU error finished it out 25-20. 

UCA vs. Tulsa

Set 1:

The Sugar Bears used solid defense to produce long rallies, but it was not enough as they fell in the first set. Both teams hit a low hitting percentage for the set. Tulsa sat at .176, while UCA hosted a -.049 hitting percentage. That happened as the Sugar Bears' lone lead came when they were up 1-0. Outside of that, the Golden Hurricanes ran the set as they went on multiple rallies, especially at seven straight, to put it at 18-10. From there, Tulsa continued to grab the overall set 25-16. 

Set 2:

The second set saw Tulsa go on a massive run that the Sugar Bears could not counter. That run happened when UCA led 13-9; the Golden Hurricanes would score nine straight points to make it 18-13. The Sugar Bears would pose a comeback and tie it at 20 after Anna Williams came up with a big service ace. However, Tulsa would get the final say as they won the set 25-21. 

Set 3:

The third set was the final one of the match as Tulsa continued their hot hands. However, UCA pushed back as they held the lead at 10-9. That did not last as Tulsa outscored the Sugar Bears 10-3 and eventually made their way to the final score of 25-19.

Quote from head coach John Newberry:
"We had a great 1st game. I think that as a team, we executed at a good level. We saw growth from some of our younger players. Jamiryana Hall came in and stepped up big. Both Anna Williams and Anna Myers did a better job managing the game in the 3rd and 4th set. Unfortunately, we were not able to manage the game as well against Tulsa. They had some very tough servers and we couldn't get in a rhythm to execute our game plan."