CONWAY, Ark. – The Sugar Bears who are fresh off of a 3-0 start in Springfield, Missouri last weekend are headed to Houston to face off with some mostly unfamiliar foes.
The Sugar Bears face Houston (2-1, 0-0 AAC) Friday at 11 a.m., then square off against Oregon State (0-2, 0-0 PAC-12) Saturday at 10 a.m. and then Alabama (3-0, 0-0 SEC) at 1:30 p.m.

UCA swept the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational on the campus of Missouri State University last weekend, taking matches from Tennessee Tech, Oral Roberts, and the host Missouri State Bears. The Sugar Bears needed to rally after falling in the first set versus Tennessee Tech and Oral Roberts, and then took a thriller against Missouri State.

Standouts on the weekend were not few and far between for the Sugar Bears, and UCA has a few players to watch for this weekend's matches. First off, Laci Bohannan sprinted out of the gate in the first three matches in Purple and Gray. Bohannan, a Benton native, won the ASUN Freshman of the Week award for her performance in Springfield, including 28 kills, a school record for most kills in a match in the Rally Scoring era. Sophomore Jamiryana Hall also had a stellar weekend, pitching in 17 kills on Saturday, helping the Sugar Bears take down Missouri State. Setter Caylan Koons also had a great start to her freshman season, tallying 140 assists, good for 10.77 per set.

While UCA has some young stars, they aren't short on veteran leadership at all. Senior Outside Hitter Alexis Stumbough has started every game for the Sugar Bears this year so far, and provides a ton of experience. Defensively, Graduate Transfer Leigh Maher has made her presence known in her first few matches at UCA. She has added 59 digs so far to give the Sugar Bears a lift defensively.

It's been over a decade since the Sugar Bears have faced Houston, when the Cougars took down UCA three sets to one on August 27^th 2011. A player to watch for when UCA takes on Houston is the Cougars' Senior Outside Hitter Abbie Jackson, who is averaging 4.40 kills per set.

The Sugar Bears will face Oregon State and Alabama for the first time in program history. A player to watch for from the Beavers is Sophomore Outside Hitter Vivian Light, averaging 3.88 kills per set. A player to watch for from the Crimson Tide is another underclassman. Micah Gryniewicz is a Freshman hailing from Chandler, Arizona and is leading the Tide with 3.75 kills per set.

All of the action will be taking place in Houston, Texas this weekend, but the Sugar Bears come home to the Prince Center next weekend September 9^th and 10^th.