OXFORD, Miss. — Central Arkansas lost its final march of the Rebel Classic on Sunday to Ole Miss 3-0, falling by set scores of 25-18, 25-18 and 25-17. Central Arkansas finished with 33 kills and a .188 hitting percentage as a team, while Ole Miss totaled 42 kills and hit .376.
The Sugar Bears spent the opening set playing from behind after Ole Miss scored the first five points of the set.
McKinzee Haas ended the scoring run on a kill, assisted by
Sophie Skinner. Central Arkansas narrowed the Rebel lead to 11-8 on an
Olivia Kremer ace, but Ole Miss followed with five straight points to create separation.
Sarah Carnathan added a kill and a service ace during a later three-point stretch, but Ole Miss closed the set 25-18.
Central Arkansas could not erase Ole Miss' separation in the second set, falling behind 17-11 before
Kennady Martindale and
Greyson Button supplied kills during a late push. Martindale tallied three-straight points for the Sugar Bears, including back-to-back Central Arkansas points that made it 19-15, before the Rebels earned the win in set two, 25-18.
Central Arkansas stayed close in the third set with the help of kills by Martindale and
Nicole Sargent. The Sugar Bears were within two midway through the set, trailing 13-11, before Ole Miss scored seven straight, including four Jaidyn Hartsfield service aces, to push the set to 20-11.
Annie Hopkins added three kills in the set, but it was not enough as Ole Miss took the set 25-17, and the match 3-0.
Central Arkansas Top Performers
Kennady Martindale
- Team-high 11 kills with no errors on 25 attempts (Single-game high)
- .440 hitting percentage (Single-game high)
- 4 digs
Tatelyn Brandsma
- Match-leading 20 assists
- 3 digs
- 1 block assist
Cameron McDaniel
- Team-high 12 digs
- 4 assists
Karlyn Frazier
- Team-high 2 blocks, including 1 solo block
- 3 kills
Up next, the Sugar Bears (0-5) travel to Hawaii, for a matchup with Hawaii (3-2) on Friday, Sept. 11, at 12 a.m. CT.
