CONWAY, Ark. – The University of Central Arkansas beach volleyball team is set to head to Monroe, Louisiana to take part in the ULM Beach Invitational.
In five matches last weekend, UCA took two, with wins over Nicholls and New Orleans. The UNO win had to be satisfying for the program as, the Bears had dropped nine straight to the Privateers coming into the matchup. UCA now stands at 6-12 and has a great opportunity to pick up some wins in the latter part of the season.
UCA's first opponent this weekend is one that it should be very familiar with. The Hendrix Warriors, just a stones throw away from UCA's campus, are on deck for the Bears. The Warriors come in with a 12-11 record and have a handful of wins against East Texas Baptist and a win over Mary Hardin Baylor. In recent history, UCA is 6-0 against its cross-town rivals, including two 5-0 wins in the 2022 season.
The Bears have already faced Stephen F. Austin earlier this year and would love to duplicate the result. The Bears went into Nacogdoches and took a match with the Jacks, and then had to leave early to get ahead of some nasty weather. SFA comes into Monroe with a 3-14 record with a win over UNC Wilmington and two wins over Texas A&M-Kingsville. UCA has now won three of the four meetings with SFA, all within the past two seasons.
The Bears are not overly familiar with Spring Hill College. The Bears and Badgers have faced off just three times in the past, with SHC taking two of those three matchups. The Bears did, however, take last season's matchup in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The Badgers come in at 11-9 on the season with key wins against Chattanooga, Nebraska, and UTEP.
The hosting Louisiana Monroe Warhawks enter action at 22-2 with key wins over Utah, Jacksonville State, and Nicholls three times. UCA has faced ULM 11 times since the 2017 season, with UCA winning seven of them. However, ULM has taken four of the last six matchups, including the last matchup in the series in 2022.
UCA will face Hendrix on Friday, April 7th at 8:00 a.m. and then will take on Stephen F. Austin at 12:00 p.m. Then on Saturday, April 8th, UCA will take on Spring Hill at 8:00 a.m. and ULM at 10:00 a.m.
