CONWAY, Ark. – The Central Arkansas volleyball team had a complete performance versus Austin Peay, winning in three sets on senior night in front of a packed Prince Center on Friday evening. The win lifts UCA to 19-9 on the season and an 11-4 ASUN mark.
The first start got off to a great start, as Anna Myers started things off with a service ace. UCA got off to a 5-2 start, in part to an Alexis Stumbough ace. Later UCA would stretch their lead to 11-3 off of a kill by Jamiryana Hall. Austin Peay pieced together a few chances here and there, but Central Arkansas was always quick to fend off a rally in the opening set. With an opportunity to close out the set, Mackenzie Vernon got a kill to give the Sugar Bears a 1-0 lead in the match with a 25-15.
The second set also saw the Sugar Bears sprint out the gate. UCA took a 5-1 lead early and forced a timeout from the Governors. Later, Austin Peay employed a 3-0 run to cut UCA's lead to 13-11. Instead of buckling, the Sugar Bears answered with a 4-0 run and took a 17-11 lead. The Sugar Bears would soon go on a 7-0 run, capped by an ace from Kendall Haywood to pin Austin Peay against the wall. With a 24-16 score, Macy Blackburn sent down a thunderous kill to finish off the second set and give UCA a 2-0 set lead.
Austin Peay played much cleaner to start the third set and took an early 9-6 lead over UCA. The Sugar Bears would fight back and use a 3-0 run capped by another ace by Stumbough to take a 13-12 lead. UCA then would go on a 4-0 scoring run to put the Sugar Bears in the driver's seat. UCA would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the ballgame, although the Govs made it close at 20-19. The Sugar Bears then went on a 5-0 run to seal the match and send a packed Prince Center home happy with a 25-19 win in the third set to seal a sweep.
The Sugar Bears had a good statistical night, led by Hall's 12 kills. Myers led UCA in assists with 17, she also contributed two of the Sugar Bears' nine aces on the night. Caylan Koons had 14 assists off the bench and also had two assists on the night. Stumbough led UCA in aces with three. It was a great performance from everyone in purple and gray on Friday night, and it was a great last home game for Stumbough, Myers, and Haywood.
Central Arkansas will close out the regular season against the Kennesaw State Owls on the road on Sunday, November 11th at noon. The game will be streamed on ESPN+, and as always, you can keep up with every game on Twitter at @ucavball.
