CONWAY, Ark. – The University of Central Arkansas beach volleyball team is set to head on its last road trip of the regular season. The Final Four won't be the only exciting thing taking place in Phoenix, Arizona this weekend, as UCA will head to the campus of Grand Canyon University to take part in the Canyon Classic.
While last Friday's action was a touch sour for the Bears, Saturday was good to UCA, winning against Hendrix and Tarleton to cap the road trip. Madelyn White and Audrey Cathcart were huge in UCA's win over the Texans, as well as the early match against Hendrix. Brooke Kuball and Katie Atkinson were big for the top of the Bears' order against Tarleton, swiftly winning 21-15, 21-13. UCA heads into this weekend at 6-17 overall as they go into this weekend featuring some relatively new opponents.
The first opponent this weekend is one that the Bears have never faced off against, and they will become acquainted quickly. Ottawa University of Arizona is an NAIA school in Phoenix that UCA will play twice on Friday. The Spirit come into Friday's matchups at 15-4 on the season. OUAZ are the No. 1 ranked team in the NAIA Beach Volleyball Coaches poll this past week, so this should be a good test for the Bears. The Spirit have taken a step up as far as their opponents this season, taking on GCU and UAB, while losing both, it was a good challenge for OUAZ.
UCA will lead off Friday with a match with the host Grand Canyon. The Lopes come into this weekend with a 7-12 record on the season but have faced a litany of talented teams this year. At one point, GCU faced nine straight teams ranked in the top 20, capping it off with a win against No. 8 LSU. Overall, the Lopes have taken on 13 ranked opponents this season with the win over LSU standing out as the only win. GCU's win over South Carolina is pretty impressive as well, even if the Gamecocks were unranked at the time. UCA has faced GCU only once, a 3-2 loss in New Orleans in the spring of 2018.
UCA will cap off the weekend with a match against the UTEP Miners. UTEP arrives in Phoenix with a 10-9 record this year. The Miners' key wins this year include Santa Clara, Missouri State, UT Martin, Stephen F. Austin, and Eastern Kentucky. UTEP's schedule has not been short on challenges to date, dropping matches to No. 15 FAU, No. 20 TAMU-CC, and Arizona who received votes. UCA has never taken on UTEP, so this should be a good test for the Bears as they press on to their home tournament.
UCA takes on OUAZ on Saturday, April 6th at 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., then on Sunday, April 7th the Bears will take on GCU at 10:00 a.m. and UTEP at 12:00 p.m.
