CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Central Arkansas volleyball team dropped another heartbreaker in the Volunteer state on Friday night. UCA took the first two sets and looked to cruise to victory, but Austin Peay eventually won in five sets. The Sugar Bears finished with am 8-20 record overall and a 2-14 ASUN mark.
The back half of the first set was utter domination for the Sugar Bears after the two teams played it tight for most of the set. With the Sugar Bears leading 17-16, UCA put its foot on the gas, scoring the last eight points of the first set, aided by three aces by Lexie Gregory in her last game in purple and gray. Laci Bohannan led the team in the first set with eight kills, while senior April Conant's kill sealed a 25-16 first set victory for the Sugar Bears.
UCA was able to build a lead thanks to two key scoring runs in the second. The first coming with a 9-8 Sugar Bear lead, where UCA ran off three straight points capped by a Mackenzie Vernon kill. The second run came with a 13-12 lead for UCA, as the Sugar Bears scored four straight, including three kills from Vernon. Vernon had eight kills in this set, and was pivotal to giving UCA a 2-0 set lead, scoring the final point to give the Sugar Bears the 25-22 set win.
It looked as if UCA would cruise to victory in the third set, building a 8-3. But in this set, it was the Governors that would make the big run, and it came at a bad time for UCA. The Sugar Bears had a 21-16 lead, then the Govs hit on five in a row to tie it, and then four of five to steal the set from UCA, 25-23.
UCA sputtered in the opening minutes of the fourth set, and ultimately, it could have been what cost them. The Govs opened a 6-1 lead early on, and never relinquished the lead. UCA tightened it up a little at the media timeout at 15-11. UCA also never let Austin Peay get on another big run, but the damage was done, as APSU would take the fourth set 25-21.
Any scoring run is huge in the fifth set, and the beginning of the deciding set was an absolute nightmare for the Sugar Bears, as the Governors grabbed a 5-0 lead. Soon after, the Sugar Bears went on a 4-0 run and would take an 8-7 lead. However, it all went downhill from there, as the Govs went on a 6-1 run with the score tied at nine all, sealing a 15-10 victory.
Bohannan went nuclear on Friday night, tying her career high of 28 kills. Vernon came with in one of her career high, finishing with 22 kills. Caylan Koons finished her sophomore year with another masterful performance, tallying 53 assists, 14 digs, and three blocks. Koons finished 2023 with 1,075 assists a career high for her. Alexis McDaniel finished with 23 digs and five assists on Friday evening.
