CONWAY, Ark. — The Central Arkansas volleyball team (9-15, 9-5 UAC) fell to North Alabama (20-7, 10-4 UAC) 3-2 on Friday, with set scores of 23-25, 25-16, 25-21, 23-25, 13-15. For the second consecutive match,
Nicole Sargent set a new career high in kills with 18, hitting .517 in the match, adding six digs and three blocks to her 19.5-point line.
Ella Chaney recorded her fourth straight double-double with 14 kills and 16 digs in the match.
The night began with a celebration of five Central Arkansas seniors,
Greyson Button,
Sarah Carnathan,
Trinity Hamilton,
Nicole Sargent and
Sophie Skinner.
The Sugar Bears battled back from a 7-3 deficit and briefly moved ahead in the opening set, using Sargent's kill to tie it at 15 before a
Sarah Carnathan-
McKinzee Haas block made it 16-15. The teams traded points late, and the Sugar Bears reached a 23-23 tie after a North Alabama attack error. The Lions took the final two points to close the set, 25-23.
With Carnathan serving, the Sugar Bears took control of the second set, moving from 5-3 to 8-3 behind an
Ella Chaney kill, a service ace and a
Tatelyn Brandsma/
Greyson Button block. The home side kept adding points through its attack, including kills from Sargent,
Greyson Button, Carnathan and Chaney, before Sargent finished the 25-16 set with a kill from
Olivia Kremer.
After a 2-2 tie, the Sugar Bears used kills by Chaney and Sargent plus Chaney's ace to move ahead 5-2, then kept North Alabama at a distance for much of the third set. Button, Brandsma and Chaney added points through the middle of the set, and Sargent delivered consecutive kills as the Sugar Bears reached 22-17. North Alabama got back within 23-21, but a service error set up Carnathan's kill from Brandsma to finish the Sugar Bears' 25-21 win.
The Sugar Bears rallied from an 18-16 deficit to take a 21-19 lead, with
Ella Chaney putting down three kills during the push and Sargent and
McKinzee Haas combining on a block. The Sugar Bears were still ahead 23-21, but North Ala. scored the final four points to take the set 25-23.
In the fifth set, the Sugar Bears built an 8-4 lead, getting three early kills from Sargent and back-to-back points on
Trinity Hamilton's ace and Chaney's kill. North Alabama pulled even at 9-9 and moved ahead 10-9, but the Sugar Bears answered to tie the set twice before
Sophie Skinner's kill put them up 12-11. After a North Alabama service error gave the Sugar Bears a 13-12 edge, the Lions took the final two points to win the set 15-13, and the match 3-2.
Nicole Sargent
- Career high 18 kills on .517 hitting
- 19.5 points
- 3 blocks
Ella Chaney
- 14 kills
- 16 digs
- 3 service aces
- 17.5 points
Sophie Skinner
- 31 assists
- 12 digs
- 5 kills on 1.000 hitting
Olivia Kremer
- 20 digs
Greyson Button
- 11 kills
- 6 blocks, including 1 solo
- 14.5 points
The Sugar Bears will hit the road for the final week of the regular season, heading to Abilene Christian on Thursday, November 12. First serve is set for 6 p.m., the match will be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats available online.
