Youngsville, La. – The Central Arkansas beach volleyball team faced a challenging weekend at the Sugar Beach Slam, going 1-3 in matchups against New Orleans, ULM, Southeastern Louisiana, and Tulane. The Beach Bears picked up a hard-fought 3-2 win over UNO before dropping matches to ULM (4-1), Southeastern Louisiana (4-1), and Tulane (5-0).  

Beach Bears Edge New Orleans in Five-Set Thriller 
March 14, 2025 – UCA 3, UNO 2 

The Beach Bears opened the weekend with a gritty 3-2 victory over New Orleans in a match that came down to the wire. Anna Linskey and Riley Melton delivered the deciding point at the No. 1 flight, battling back after dropping the first set to claim a 19-21, 21-14, 19-17 victory over Lander and Smith.  

Other key wins came from Lily Irizarry and Audrey Cathcart, who dominated at the No. 4 spot with a 21-15, 21-13 sweep, and Naya Tan and Reegan Siewert, who secured a 21-16, 21-12 win at the No. 5 flight.  

Cenral Arkansas 3 - 2 UNO 
Pair 1:Anna Linskey/Riley Melton (UCA) def. Nikelle Lander/Tristin Smith (UNO) 19-21, 21-14, 19-17 (Order of Finish: 5)
Pair 2: Ivana Peixe/Grace Hinchman (UNO) def. Madelyn White/Kenzie Foley (UCA) 21-15, 21-15 (Order of Finish: 2)
Pair 3: Renata Dykstra/Mona Salgado (UNO) def. Callie Mullins/Katie Atkinson (UCA) 15-21, 21-13, 15-12 (Order of Finish: 4)
Pair 4: Lily Irizarry/Audrey Cathcart (UCA) def. Ashley Salazar/Jayden Newman (UNO) 21-15, 21-13 (Order of Finish: 1)
Pair 5: Naya Tan/Reegan Siewart (UCA) def. Savannah Moberly/Dayla Ward (UNO) 21-16, 21-12 (Order of Finish: 3)
**Order of Finish:** 5, 2, 3, 4, 1* (*Clinching point)  

ULM Overpowers Beach Bears  
March 14, 2025 – ULM 4, UCA 1 

Later that day, Central Arkansas ran into a tough ULM squad, falling 4-1. The lone victory for the Beach Bears came at the No. 2 pairing, where Madelyn White and Kenzie Foley pulled off a three-set win over Abby Ryno and Claire Williamson, 22-20, 10-21, 15-13.  

ULM secured straight-set victories in four other matchups to take the win. The Warhawks' Kaitlyn Beck and Madeline Marquez clinched the match at the top flight, besting Riley Melton and Anna Linskey, 21-17, 21-14.  

Central Ark. 1 - 4 ULM
1 . Beck, Kaitlyn/Marquez, Madeline (ULM) 2-0 Melton, Riley/Linskey, Anna (UCA) 21-17 21-14
2 . White, Madelyn/Foley, Kenzie (UCA) 2-1 Ryno, Abby/Williamson, Claire (ULM) 22-20 10-21 15-13
3 . Felts, Katie/Cox, Maggie (ULM) 2-0 Atkinson, Katie/Mulllins, Callie (UCA) 29-27 21-15
4 . Hunter, Avery/Ferguson, Zsa Zsa (ULM) 2-1 Irizary, Liliana/Cathcart, Audrey (UCA) 21-12 19-21 15-13
5 . Hope, Bailey/Fredette-Huffman, Kaelyn (ULM) 2-0 Tan, Naya/Siewert, Reegan (UCA) 21-13 21-15
**Order of Finish:** 2, 4, 5, 1*, 3 (*Clinching point)  

Southeastern Louisiana Holds Off Beach Bears
March 15, 2025 – SLU 4, UCA 1

The Beach Bears looked to bounce back against Southeastern Louisiana, but the Lions proved too strong, claiming a 4-1 victory. UCA's only win came from White and Foley at the No. 2 spot, as they dominated Petty and Paiva, 21-11, 21-14.  

Despite a hard-fought battle at the No. 4 and No. 5 pairings, the Beach Bears couldn't force a deciding match. Steele and Hicks sealed the victory for SLU at the No. 4 spot with a 21-15, 11-21, 16-14 win over Irizarry and Cathcart.  

SLU 4 - 1 UCA
1 . McKinney, Mia/Logarbo, Alexis (SL) 2-0 Melton, Riley/Linskey, Anna (UCA) 21-17 21-15
2 . White, Madelyn/Foley, Kenzie (UCA) 2-0 Petty, Carley/Paiva, Maggie (SL) 21-11 21-14
3 . Lockwood, Ysabella/Sauers, Mia (SL) 2-0 Atkinson, Katie/Mulllins, Callie (UCA) 21-9 21-18
4 . Steele, Kennedi/Hicks, Makayla (SL) 2-1 Irizary, Liliana/Cathcart, Audrey (UCA) 21-15 11-21 16-14
5 . Steele, Aspen/Brauckmiller, Anne (SL) 2-1 Tan, Naya/Siewert, Reegan (UCA) 23-21 17-21 15-12
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 1, 3*, 5 (*Clinching point)  

Tulane Sweeps UCA in Final Match of the Weekend  
March 15, 2025 – Tulane 5, UCA 0

In their final match of the tournament, UCA faced a dominant Tulane squad and fell 5-0. The Beach Bears put up a fight at the top flight, with Melton and Linskey pushing their match to three sets, but ultimately fell 18-21, 21-8, 15-8 to Heintzelman and Cutler.  

Tulane took the remaining four matchups in straight sets, clinching the match with a 21-12, 21-11 win at the No. 3 spot.  

Central Ark. 0 - 5 Tulane
1 . Heintzelman, Emily/Cutler, McKenzie (Tulane) 2-1 Melton, Riley/Linskey, Anna (UCA) 18-21 21-8 15-8
2 . Trodd, Molly/Ensign, Skylar (Tulane) 2-0 White, Madelyn/Foley, Kenzie (UCA) 21-14 21-13
3 . Mullen, Amelia/Burks, Avery (Tulane) 2-0 Atkinson, Katie/Mulllins, Callie (UCA) 21-12 21-11
4 . Green, Samantha/Hall, Madison (Tulane) 2-0 Irizary, Liliana/Cathcart, Audrey (UCA) 21-14 21-14
5 . O'Connor, Sam/Griffin, Bella (Tulane) 2-0 Tan, Naya/Tidwell, Emmie (UCA) 21-13 21-17
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 3*, 5, 1 (*Clinching point)  

Up Next
After a hard-fought weekend, the Beach Bears move to 8-8 on the season and will look to bounce back in their upcoming matchups at the Arizona Invitational March 21st-22nd.