CONWAY, Ark. – The end of the season is near for the Central Arkansas volleyball team, as the Sugar Bears are back in action on Thursday and Friday for the final two home matches of the season.
Central Arkansas (8-14, 8-4 UAC) has already clinched its spot in the United Athletic Conference tournament later this month, but seeding is still on the line heading into the final two weeks of the campaign. Currently, the Sugar Bears are in a tie for third place with North Alabama, while Abilene Christian sits a game ahead in second place. Eastern Kentucky occupies the top of the leaderboard with a 12-0 UAC record.
On Thursday, the Sugar Bears will take on UT Arlington for the first time this season. Central Arkansas has had success against UT Arlington with an all-time record of 5-3, and winners of the last five meetings.
The Sugar Bears come into the match after going 1-1 last week in two five-set thrillers. Central Arkansas completed the season sweep over Little Rock on Tuesday with a 3-2 win in the Jack Stephens Center, before coming home to drop a 3-2 heartbreaker to Abilene Christian on Thursday.
Ella Chaney recorded back-to-back double-doubles in the two matches, putting her tally at six on the season and seven in her career. Against Little Rock, Chaney fired in 13 kills, hitting .333 in the match, while adding 11 digs, three blocks and an assist in her 15-point night. She followed that up with 12 points against ACU with 10 kills, 15 digs, two blocks and an ace.
Karlyn Frazier joined in on the action, notching 18 kills and hitting .273 at Little Rock with six blocks and two digs in her 21-point performance.
Greyson Button paced the match against ACU with 12 kills, hitting .286, adding four blocks, three digs and an ace to her 15.5-point line.
UT Arlington enters with an 11-13 overall record, 5-7 in UAC play, clinging to the final conference tournament seed in sixth place. UT Arlington went 1-1 last week, taking EKU to five-sets before falling 3-2 on Thursday, and sweeping Austin Peay on Saturday. The Mavericks are led by senior outside hitter, Evyn Snook, who was named UAC Player of the Week last week. Snook notched 40 kills and 44 points between the team's two matches with 14 digs and three assists. Snook is currently ranked second in the conference in kills per set with 3.51, total kills with 330, and points with 366.
On Friday, the Sugar Bears will play host to North Alabama for Senior Night. Central Arkansas is 8-10 all-time against the Lions. The Sugar Bears faced the Lions early in the season in Florence, Alabama on October 3
rd, where North Alabama came out with the 3-1 victory.
North Alabama comes in with an 18-7 overall record, tied with Central Arkansas at 8-4 in conference play. Like UT Arlington, North Alabama went 1-1 last week, taking the victory over Tarleton State 3-1 on Thursday, and pushing EKU to five before falling 3-2 on Saturday.
Two Lions, Kinslee McGowan and Landri Ross, were honored as UAC Setter Pair of the Week for their setting contributions last week. The pair combined for 102 assists on the week, averaging 11.33 assists per set. Reese Ricketts leads the conference in kills per set averaging 4.03 per set with a team-leading 363 total kills.
Both matches are set for 6 p.m. starts at the Prince Center with streaming available on ESPN+ and live stats available online.
