CONWAY, Ark. — The Central Arkansas volleyball team (8-14, 8-4 UAC) lost to Abilene Christian (16-7, 8-3 UAC) 3-2 on Thursday night.
Ella Chaney recorded her second double-double performance in a row with 10 kills and 15 digs, adding two blocks and an ace.
Greyson Button paced the match with 12 kills, hitting .286 with four blocks, three digs and an ace on her 15.5-point line.
Central Arkansas broke a 15-15 tie by winning seven of the next eight rallies, moving ahead 23-16 in the first set. The stretch included blocks involving
Karlyn Frazier, Chaney and
Nicole Sargent, plus a Chaney service ace.
Olivia Kremer closed the set with an ace as Central Arkansas finished it 25-17.
The Sugar Bears recovered from an early 7-4 deficit in the second set to get even at 7-7, with
Sarah Carnathan's kill starting the response and Chaney and Button combining on the tying block. After
Tatelyn Brandsma's kill tied it again at 8-8, Abilene Christian scored the next five points and kept Central Arkansas from stringing together a longer run. Central Arkansas made a late three-point push with kills by Button and Chaney, but the Wildcats closed the set with the final four points for a 25-16 set win.
Central Arkansas changed the third set with a 9-0 run, going from a 7-8 deficit to a 16-8 lead as Kremer served the final eight points of the surge. ACU later tied the set at 20-20, but the Sugar Bears moved back in front and reached set point on consecutive kills by Sargent and Button from
Sophie Skinner. Central Arkansas finished the set 25-23 on an ACU service error.
The Sugar Bears erased a 17-12 deficit in the fourth set and took a 19-18 lead, with
Kennady Martindale recording a kill from Skinner before teaming up with Button on the block that put Central Arkansas in front. The Wildcats answered with six straight points to move ahead 24-19. The Sugar Bears got one back on a Button kill before dropping the set 25-20.
Central Arkansas pulled even at 5-5 in the fifth set on an ACU service error and attack error, but the Wildcats moved ahead 9-6 and later scored four straight points to make it 13-7.
McKinzee Haas had three kills in the set, including a Skinner-assisted point that made it 14-9. ACU closed the set on the next point, handing Central Arkansas a 15-9 fifth-set loss, and taking the match 3-2.
Greyson Button
- Team-high 15.5 points
- 12 kills on .286 hitting
- 4 blocks, including 1 solo
- 1 service ace
Ella Chaney
- Team-high 15 digs
- 10 kills
- 2 blocks
- 1 service ace
Olivia Kremer
- 4 service aces
- 11 digs
- 4 assists
Tatelyn Brandsma
- 28 assists
- 3 kills on .250 hitting
- 3 digs
McKinzee Haas
- 3 kills with no errors on 3 attempts
- 1.000 hitting percentage
The Sugar Bears will return to the Prince Center on Thursday, Nov. 5 to take on UT Arlington at 6 p.m. The match will be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats available online.
