2023-09-28 19:03:57
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CONWAY, Ark. – The University of Central Arkansas volleyball team is ready to hit the road for its first full conference road trip this season once morest Bellarmine and Eastern Kentucky.
The Sugar Bears suffered a tough five set loss to Lipscomb on Friday, staying competitive the whole way through and slightly fading in the decisive fifth set. A three-set loss to Austin Peay dropped the Sugar Bears to 0-3 in the conference, the team’s worst start in ASUN play in the three years since joining the conference, however the Sugar Bears did find themselves in an 0-2 hole to start conference play last season but managed to finish 11-5. In the loss to Lipscomb, Caylan Koons had her eighth match of the season with 40 or more assists, bringing her yearly total to 560 assists, first in the ASUN conference and currently 11th in Division I. Lilly Taylor also finished with 16 kills, falling one kill shy of her career high. Laci Bohannan was also just a bit short of her season high, finishing with 13 kills in one of here best matches of the season.
UCA first goes to Louisville to play Bellarmine on Friday. The Knights are off to a 3-11 start to the season, splitting their two conference matches so far. Bellarmine’s wins this season have come once morest New Orleans, Southern Indiana, and Queens. The Knights are coached by Rick Nold in his second season, finishing 10-18 last season. The two leaders in kills for the Knights are freshman outside hitter, Natalie Bland with 131, and senior outside hitter, Bailey Venard with 119. Another player to watch for the Knights is Macie Garrison, a senior setter, who has tallied 216 assists in 36 sets. Anna Lococo leads the Knights in digs with 204 so far, averaging 4.34 digs per set. UCA has won all three matchups since joining the ASUN, and last year the win over Bellarmine helped spark a hot streak for the Sugar Bears.
UCA caps off the road trip in Richmond, Ky. to take on Eastern Kentucky. The Colonels are off to a red hot 12-2 start, winning 11 straight and starting 2-0 in the ASUN. So far, EKU has only lost to Mississippi State and Louisiana, while they have picked up wins over Georgia State, Marshall, Florida Atlantic, and Kennesaw State. EKU is coached by Johnna Bazzini in her fifth season at the helm. The Colonels leader in kills is redshirt junior Kambree Lucas, who has totaled 147 kills, good for 3.13 per set. The Colonels split time between their two setters Chloe Mason and Emilee Hill who have 300 and 237 assists respectively. The Sugar Bears dropped two matches once morest EKU in 2021, but UCA upended the Colonels last year that was also a part of the homestand that sparked a hot streak for the Sugar Bears.
The road trip starts for UCA on Friday, September 29th once morest Bellarmine at 5:00 p.m. The team finishes things up at Eastern Kentucky on Saturday, September 30th at 3:00 p.m. Each match will be on ESPN+ and, as always, fans can keep up with the matches on Twitter/X all season long.
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