CONWAY, Ark. – The Central Arkansas volleyball team is in the home stretch of its 2022 campaign, and has two great tests to cap off the regular season. The Sugar Bears welcome Austin Peay to the Prince Center on Friday night to celebrate the team's senior class, and then hit the road to take on Kennesaw State in the Peach State for the second time this season to close out the regular season.
The Sugar Bears (18-9, 10-4 ASUN) split their two matches last week, winning in three sets against conference newcomer Queens, and losing in three sets to top-seeded Liberty. Senior Alexis Stumbough had an excellent night against Queens, putting in 16 kills, seven digs, and an ace. Sophomore Jamiryana Hall also had a double-digit kill game against Queens last Friday. Freshman Caylan Koons racked up 32 assists and six digs against the Royals as well. Sunday's matchup versus Liberty was not quite as bountiful statistically, as it was the first time since September 3rd against Oregon State that the Sugar Bears had no players with ten or more kills.
Friday's Senior Day match will honor three players who have put in countless hours and effort into this program, in Stumbough, Anna Myers and Kendall Haywood. The trio has combined for 800 sets played, racking up over 1300 kills, 600 assists, 125 aces and almost 1200 digs. This class has helped bridge the gap from the Southland to the ASUN, clinching a spot in this season's ASUN Tournament, the first berth for the Sugar Bears in the ASUN era.
Led by 10th year head coach Taylor Mott, the Austin Peay Governors enter with a 12-13 record, and a 5-9 conference mark in their first season in the ASUN. The Govs' most recent ASUN game was a 3-0 loss to Jacksonville at home.
One of Austin Peay's players to watch is senior Mikayla Powell, who leads the team in kills with 304, and has 46 digs and 60.0 total blocks on the season. Austin Peay's assists leader is senior Kelsey Mead, who has tallied 610 on the season and is averaging 6.22 assists per set. The Govs' leader in digs is senior Erin Eisenhart, who has 433 on the season and averages 4.42 digs per set. Another player to watch for Austin Peay is senior Tegan Seyring, who has totaled 241 kills to date.
The Kennesaw State Owls come into Sunday's action sitting at 16-8 and own a 9-5 ASUN record. Led by 10th year head coach Keith Schunzel, the Owls currently sit at sixth in the conference with two games to go. The Owls will be coming off two straight matches at Lipscomp, having dropped the first last Saturday in four sets.
A player to watch for Owls is senior outside hitter Dani Ballou. The Clearwater, Fla., native has won an ASUN Player of the Week award this season and leads Kennesaw State in kills with 222. McKinley Ferguson is one of the best setters in the ASUN and has three ASUN Setter of the Week awards this season to back it up. The Jasper, Ala., native has 891 assists this season, and averages 10.61 per set. Defensively, senior Shelby Dennis leads the team in digs with 389 and has one ASUN Defensive player of the Week to her name.
Central Arkansas will honor its seniors on Friday, November 11th prior to the 7:00 p.m. against Austin Peay. The Sugar Bears will then take on the Kennesaw State Owls on the road on Sunday, November 13th at noon. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+, and as always, you can keep with the action all season long on Twitter at @ucavball
