CONWAY, Ark. — The Central Arkansas volleyball (5-12, 5-2) team defeated Little Rock (8-11, 2-5) 3-2 on Tuesday (25-20, 25-21, 22-25, 23-25, 15-13).
Sarah Carnathan picked up the third double-double of her career in the match with 13 kills and 15 digs. Carnathan also added three blocks, an ace and an assist to her line.
McKinzee Haas notched seven kills, hitting .462, stuffing six blocks while tallying seven digs.
Central Arkansas created separation in the first set with a 6-0 run that stretched a 7-5 lead to 13-5, with
Olivia Kremer serving five straight points and recording three aces in that stretch. Little Rock cut into a 24-15 deficit with five straight points, but Carnathan finished the set with a kill from
Tatelyn Brandsma for a 25-20 Sugar Bear set win.
The Sugar Bears scored the final four points of the second set to win 25-21. Carnathan had kills on two of those points, assisted first by Brandsma and then by
Ella Chaney, before Kremer finished the set with another service ace.
Central Arkansas went up 20-18 on Carnathan's kill from Brandsma, but Little Rock responded with three straight points to take a 21-20 lead. Haas and
Nicole Sargent combined on a block to tie the set at 21, and the Sugar Bears got back even at 22 on a Little Rock attack error. The Trojans scored the final three points, including a service ace on the last point, to take the set 25-22.
Central Arkansas erased a 15-11 deficit with four straight points, getting a Sargent kill and blocks involving Chaney,
Karlyn Frazier and Carnathan before tying the set at 15-15. The Sugar Bears hung around late, pulling within 24-23 on a Little Rock service error, but Bella Cherry's kill gave Little Rock the set, 25-23.
Central Arkansas turned a 9-7 fifth-set deficit into a 13-10 lead with a 6-1 run, with Sargent putting down two kills and Brandsma adding a service ace during the stretch. Little Rock cut the margin to 14-13, but Sargent finished the set with a kill from Brandsma to give Central Arkansas the 15-13 win.
Sarah Carnathan
- Team-high 13 kills
- 15 digs
- 15.5 points
McKinzee Haas
- 7 kills on 13 attempts
- .462 hitting
- 6 blocks
Tatelyn Brandsma
- 43 assists
- 9 digs
- 3 blocks, including 1 solo
Olivia Kremer
- Career high 5 service aces
- 15 digs
- 4 assists
Nicole Sargent
- 11 kills with 1 error on 17 attempts
- .588 hitting percentage
- 2 blocks
Karlyn Frazier
- Tied for team high with 6 blocks, including 1 solo
- 8 kills
- 11.5 points
Up next, Central Arkansas hosts Tarleton State on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Prince Center. The match will be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats available online.
