CONWAY, Ark. – The University of Central Arkansas volleyball team prepares to take on Stetson for another home ASUN matchup. The Sugar Bears ultimately fell in four sets to North Alabama on Wednesday to drop their record to 6-17 and 0-11 in conference play.
While the Sugar Bears were ultimately upended, there were several Sugar Bears with great performances to give UCA a chance against the Lions. Laci Bohannan continued her run of solid performances with 16 kills, four digs, and two service aces. Bohannan is now sixth in the ASUN in points per set with 3.54 and has 180.5 total points on the season. April Conant also played well, and the senior put up a career high in kills with 15, to go along with six total blocks. Caylan Koons nearly hit her season high in kills, finishing with six to go along with 37 assists and 11 digs. Koons leads the ASUN in assists with 857 and is second in the ASUN in assists per set with 9.97.
The Stetson Hatters, coached by Yang Deng in her seventh season, sit at 11-12 overall. The Hatters played a midweek match with Florida Gulf Coast and the Hatters ultimately fell to the undefeated Eagles in five sets to drop their ASUN record 6-5, as they currently sit at fifth in the conference. In conference, the Hatters boast wins over North Florida, Jacksonville, Queens, North Alabama, Austin Peay, and Bellarmine. Stetson has plenty of players to look out for as an ASUN tournament hopeful, starting with junior setter Nyah Molina, who ranks seventh in program history with 2338 assists. In the 2023 campaign, Molina currently has 649 assists, which ranks seventh in the ASUN so far this season. Senior outside hitter Anabelle Standish is another player to look out for, as she sits in fourth in the conference with 292 kills, and third in the conference in kills per set with 3.40. Sophia Groom, a sophomore middle blocker, is someone to watch defensively, as she sits in second in the ASUN in blocks and blocks per set with 100 and 1.22 respectively. Lastly, junior libero Haruka Sugimoto is one more to look out for defensively for the Hatters, as she is second in program history with 4,23 digs per set, and she is fourth in the ASUN in digs with 347.
The Sugar Bears and Hatters have split their two matches since UCA joined the conference in 2021. The Hatters took a neutral site win in 2021, and then the Sugar Bears got payback in Conway last season amidst the long winning streak for UCA. Overall, UCA leads the all-time series 2-1, winning in DeLand in 2012.
UCA takes on Stetson on Sunday, October 29th at 12:00 p.m. for the Nightmare on Bruce Street. The match will be live streamed on ESPN+ and fans can keep up with the match on Twitter/X at @UCAVball.
