CONWAY, Ark. – The University of Central Arkansas volleyball team fell in a highly competitive match to the University of Jacksonville Friday night. The four-set loss drops the Sugar Bears to 6-15 overall and 0-9 in the ASUN.
The Sugar Bears got off to a much better start than in some previous matches, and even held an 8-6 lead in the first set, but a 6-0 run by the Dolphins prompted a timeout to talk things over. Later, with JU leading 14-9, the Sugar Bears rattled off seven of eight points and took a 16-15 lead on a Laci Bohannan service ace. The Dolphins re-took the lead later, but the Sugar Bears got within a point at 22-21, however, Jacksonville took the final three points of the set and won, 25-21.
The second set played out pretty similarly to the opening frame, with UCA staying steady and this time the Sugar Bears used a 6-2 run to take a lead into the media timeout. The Dolphins got to work out of the timeout, however, using a 5-1 run to take an 18-17 lead and then another 5-1 run to seal the set at 25-20, and gain a huge two-set advantage over UCA.
Perhaps when they needed it the most, the Sugar Bears started the third set on fire, and took a 5-1 lead from the jump. Soon after, with Jacksonville creeping back in it, a run of four straight helped UCA take a 12-6 lead. Another run of 4-1 gave UCA a 16-8 advantage, and from there The Sugar Bears played with some confidence. A comeback bid by the Dolphins was thwarted by a kill by Mackenzie Vernon, who sealed the set win for UCA, 25-17.
Early on, it seemed like UCA was going to grab hold of the momentum it built in the previous set, starting out on top 5-1, but the Dolphins fought back to tie it at six and then used a 3-0 run to tie it at nine. After a run of six in a row by Jacksonville after UCA took a 14-13 lead seemed to suck some of the energy out of the building. However, the Sugar Bears kept chipping away, scoring five of six to make it 22-21 Jacksonville. Shortly after, the Sugar Bears ran off three straight points to take a 24-23 lead and out of nowhere had set point. Unfortunately, JU took the next two points to take a 25-24 lead, a lead that would be short lived as UCA immediately tied it up at 25. However, the Dolphins took two straight points to pull the run out from underneath the Sugar Bears and take the fourth set, 27-25.
Vernon had a spectacular performance on Friday night, putting up 19 kills, while Lilly Taylor was second on the team with 10 kills. Allison Holloway finished with nine kills and six block assists, while Bohannan finished with eight kills, 14 digs, and an ace. Caylan Koons tallied 43 assists and 10 digs, while Alexis McDaniel led the team with 18 digs.
UCA will be back at the Prince Center on Sunday, October 22nd at 1:00 p.m. against North Florida for Youth Day. The match will be streamed on ESPN+, and fans can keep up with the action on Twitter/X at @UCAVball
