HAMMOND, La. – The University of Central Arkansas beach volleyball team dropped two difficult decisions at the Southeastern Invitational. UCA continued to play much better than the start of the season.

UCA 2 – Texas A&M – Kingsville 3

The Beach Bears were far and away more competitive in this match than they have been in a majority of their matches in the early season. The pair of experienced Bears in Katie Atkinson and Brooke Kuball started things out with a tight win, a welcome sign for UCA. Later, Anna Collums and Payton Sproule looked to hit their stride together, pulling out a solid win over the Javelina No. 2 pair. Liliana Irizary and Ella Weilert, a pair of freshmen Beach Bears started out strong in their match in the No. 4 spot, winning the first set 24-22, but the TAMUK pair of Huesca and McCarthy overcame the deficit and finished off the UCA pair in three. Kingsville won its first match against UCA in the series, as UCA now leads 3-1 all time.

UCA 1 – Southeastern Louisiana 4

The host this weekend, the Lions of SLU were not so gracious to the Bears, handing over the tenth loss in the early going. UCA stayed competitive in this match, as they have been recently, but the Lions were able to get the upper hand in this match. Collums and Sproule were cooking once more in the No. 2 spot for the Bears, earning their second win on the day. The freshman pair of Audrey Cathcart and Madelyn White kept things close in the No. 5 spot for the Bears, but ultimately, SLU came out on top. The Lions also got their first ever win over the Bears, as UCA now leads the series 7-1 all-time.

UCA is slated to kick things off on Saturday in Hammond at 11:00 a.m. against Spring Hill and then the Bears will take on McNeese State at 3:00 p.m. To keep up with all thing Beach Bears, follow along on Twitter/X at @UCABeachVB.