TULSA, Okla. – The University of Central Arkansas volleyball team took matches from UT Arlington and Oral Roberts in Tulsa on Friday. UCA got momentum in the early match, and was able to cruise to victory in the second match.
UCA drew first blood in the first set, but the Mavs raced out to a lead early. The Sugar Bears weren't going out that easily and found themselves right back in the set and took the lead 18-16. After some back and forth, the set was tied at 24 all, forcing the Sugar Bears to dig deep and take three of the last four points to take the first set 27-25. Lilly Taylor came up huge in the opening frame with six kills.
The second frame played out a lot like the first, at least early on. The Mavericks jumped out to a fairly big lead early, and UCA had to claw its way back in it. The Sugar Bears found themselves on top late, however UTA tallied seven in a row to close things out, 25-20.
The third set saw UCA make a 7-0 run of its own to take a 20-19 lead. The Mavericks and Sugar Bears went back and forth until the Mavericks had a 28-27 advantage. UCA then scored two in a row on UTA errors and all the sudden the Mavs were on the ropes. After UTA tied it at 29 all, the Sugar Bears got a kill from Gabby Tuiaana and an ace from Allison Holloway to take the third set 31-29.
UTA raced out the gate and took a 10-3 lead before the Sugar Bears could get situated. Later, a 4-0 UTA run pushed the lead to 21-9 and it was all but certain that it would take five sets to decide this one. The Mavericks would take the third set, 25-17.
UCA rebounded nicely from a tough fourth set, taking a 9-5 lead early in the set. Taylor had two more huge kills down the stretch, and Charleston Tidwell closed things out with a kill to seal a 15-11 victory.
Taylor was huge in this match, as she set her career high in kills for the second time this season, this time with 17. Tidwell was also in double digits with 11 kills. Caylan Koons got her fourth straight match with 40+ kills.
The Sugar Bears gained the momentum from the five-set matinee win and started well against the Golden Eagles. UCA used the good start to stick in the match while ORU was looking to make a run. UCA took five of six to take a 21-19 lead late in set one. Kills by Holloway and Taylor down the stretch sealed the 25-23 lead.
The Sugar Bears had some good runs in the first match, but they paled in comparison to the 11-0 run UCA went on in this set. Tidwell, Tuiaana, and Holloway each had two kills in the run that took the set from a 7-7 tie to an 18-7 lead. ORU did its best to get back in the set, taking seven of eight points to get within 23-16, but the Sugar Bears emphatically closed things out with a kill from Tidwell to take the set 25-16.
UCA had a nice rhythm going in the third set as well, looking to put away Oral Roberts. The Sugar Bears took seven of eight in the early going to take a 14-5 lead, putting them in an excellent position to sweep the Golden Eagles. Having ORU on the ropes, UCA went on a 3-0 run to close things out, with help from a kill by Tuiaana and an ace by Lexie Gregory to seal the deal, 25-15.
Taylor and Tidwell each had nine kills, while Holloway and Tuiaana each had six kills. Koons had her stretch of four straight matches with 40+ assists, but with the offense flowing so well, the 27 assists the Sugar Bears got was just what they needed.
UCA closes out the Tulsa Invitational on Saturday, September 9th at 2:00 p.m. against Tulsa. Fans can watch on Tulsa TV and keep up with the match on X at @UCAVball.
