CONWAY, Ark. – Central Arkansas volleyball dropped a tough match at home against the Liberty Flames on Sunday afternoon. Liberty jumped out in front early and took the match from the Sugar Bears in three sets. The loss drops Central Arkansas to 18-9 on the year, with a 10-4 ASUN record. It marks just the second defeat for the Sugar Bears since Sept. 27, having won 11 of the last 12 matches.
Liberty started a run of dominance almost immediately in the first set. The match started off to a 2-2 tie, and before the Sugar Bears could look up, the Flames jumped out to a 15-4 lead. Unfortunately for UCA, Liberty had no intentions of slowing down. UCA tallied a few points but it would not be nearly enough to get themselves back in the set; the Flames took the first set by a score of 25-12.
The Sugar Bears came out in the second set and showed much more fight than in the opening frame, opening with a 4-2 lead. While Central Arkansas didn't have a sustained run themselves, in the second, they prevented Liberty from making a big run early. UCA made its biggest run of the set to make it 21-19 and had a clear chance to get itself back in the match. Out of a timeout, Liberty returned the favor with five straight points to immediately put UCA on the ropes. A kill by Alexis Stumbough drew UCA a little closer, but Liberty finished the Sugar Bears off 25-22 and took a 2-0 set lead.
An ace by Stumbough jolted UCA to take a 5-2 advantage early on in the third set. Liberty then went on a 10-1 run when UCA was in front 7-6 to put the Sugar Bears in another big hole at 15-8. The front line of Liberty was a problem for UCA all day and it was no different in the third set. With a 15-9 score, Liberty would finish off the Sugar Bears with a 10-3 run and put the final nail in the coffin with a 25-12 third set victory.
For the first time since Oregon State on September third of this year, UCA didn't have a player with 10 or more kills. The leading scorer for the Sugar Bears was sophomore Lilly Taylor, who finished with seven kills. Caylan Koons finished with 15 assists and added six digs and two aces. Alexis McDaniel pitched in seven digs for UCA and also had a service ace. Central Arkansas now sits in a tie for third-place in the ASUN standings with just one more week of play.
Central Arkansas will be at home for Senior Day on Friday, November 11th against Austin Peay at 7:00 p.m. The game will be on ESPN+ and as always, you can follow along with the game on Twitter at @ucavball.
