HOUSTON, TX — The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears opened their season with a hard-fought battle against ninth-ranked Texas A&M at the Rice Invitational I on August 30. In a five-set thriller, the Sugar Bears fell 3-2 to the Aggies, with set scores of 13-25, 25-21, 25-22, 16-25, 7-15.
After dropping the first set, UCA rebounded behind strong serving and a balanced offensive attack to take the second and third sets. Texas A&M regrouped in the fourth, leveraging their size and experience at the net to force a decisive fifth set, which they ultimately claimed.
UCA showed resilience and determination throughout the match, with key contributions from Laci Bohannan (10 kills, 13 points), Samantha Cousins (9 kills, 10 points), Gabby Tuiaana (6 kills, 8 points), and Caylan Koons (27 assists). The team totaled 53 kills on 125 attempts with a .136 hitting percentage, alongside 47 digs and 7 team blocks.
For the Aggies, Kyndal Stowers led the attack with 14 kills and 14 points, followed closely by Taylor Humphrey (12 kills, 13 points) and Logan Lednicky (12 kills, 14 points). Maddie Waak distributed 56 assists, and Underwood contributed 19 digs. Texas A&M totaled 55 kills on 157 attempts, hitting .287 as a team, with 86 digs and 8 total blocks.
Despite the loss, the Sugar Bears gained valuable experience against a top-10 opponent and will look to carry their momentum into tomorrow's match against Rice at 1 PM.
