CONWAY, Ark. – The University of Central Arkansas volleyball team got into the win column in conference play against Stetson on Sunday afternoon at the Prince Center. The win snapped a 10-game losing streak and improved the Sugar Bears' record to 7-17 and 1-11 in conference play.
So often in the losing streak, teams would jump out to a big lead over UCA, so it was imperative that the Sugar Bears. UCA hung in tight early and with the Hatters leading 12-10, UCA ran off four of five to lead 15-13 at the media timeout. Shortly after, with the game tied at 18 all, UCA ran off four of five to take a 22-19 advantage. The Hatters got back in it in the blink of an eye, scoring three straights when UCA had a 24-21 lead. The Sugar Bears responded so well, though, getting a kill from Laci Bohannan and Caylan Koons to seal the deal, 26-24.
The Hatters got on the board first in the following frame, scoring three straights to start the set, then opening up a 10-5 lead later on. UCA then scored five of six points to make it 11-10 getting right back in it before Stetson took a 15-12 lead into the media timeout. It was out of the timeout that UCA did its best work, swiftly tying the set at 17, then Bohannan took over, totaling four kills over an 8-1 run to seal the set, 25-19.
UCA felt the momentum swing its way and pounced to open the third set, leading 5-1 before the Hatters took an early timeout. The Hatters would start to chip away, and then would score three straight to take the lead at 12-11, then another three straight to take a 15-12 lead. With the Sugar Bears bidding to make a comeback, cutting into the Hatters' lead at 17-16, the Hatters scored another three in a row to take a 20-16 lead, which would prove to be insurmountable for the Sugar Bears, as Stetson took set three, 25-20.
The Sugar Bears once again started strong, leading 7-3 early off a pair of kills by Bohannan and three kills from Mackenzie Vernon. UCA later took an 11-6 advantage off an ace by Koons, but from there the Hatters started to chip away again. The Sugar Bears took a 15-11 lead off another kill by Bohannan, but the Hatters took four straight points to tie it, refusing to surrender momentum. UCA got its first big run of the set when they needed it most, down 19-18, a 6-1 run led by four Vernon kills gave UCA match point at 24-20. Stetson gave the electric Prince Center crowd a bit of a scare on Halloween weekend, scoring three straight to make it 24-23, but fittingly a kill by Vernon sealed it, 25-23.
Bohannan nearly tied her season high of 23 kills on Sunday, finishing with 22 to go along with 10 digs. Vernon didn't finish far behind, totaling 21 kills on the afternoon, her season high. April Conant continues to play well after earning a starting role a few weeks ago, finishing with 10 kills and four total blocks. Koons had another masterful performance, totaling a season-high 50 assists to go along with 15 digs and five kills.
UCA will next take the court at the Prince Center on Friday, November 3rd at 6:00 p.m. against Eastern Kentucky.
