Box Score
Photo Gallery
2016 Southland Volleyball Tournament Central
CONWAY, Ark. – In front of a raucous home crowd for Central Arkansas at the Farris Center, the No. 5 Central Arkansas Sugar Bears battled it out with the No. 4 Houston Baptist Huskies for four long sets. The match saw a total of 37 ties, 20 lead changes and the last two sets going to extra points. Both teams scored over 20 points in all four sets and registered 116 kills between the two of them. The Sugar Bears narrowly came out on top 3-1 and advance to tomorrow’s semifinal meeting on their home court with A&M-Corpus Christi.
Both offenses came out firing in the first set before Houston Baptist carved out a slight 11-7 lead to force a Sugar Bear timeout. A subsequent 4-1 run pulled Central Arkansas within one and they would then tie the set at 15-15. Houston Baptist would then call a timeout with the Sugar Bears ahead 18-17. The rest of the set continued to be hotly contested with Central Arkansas narrowly forging ahead for a 25-22 victory in set one.
The first set saw an impressive 13 tie scores and nine lead changes before all was said and done. Central Arkansas was hitting .389 while the Huskies registered a .216 hitting percentage. Offense was the name of the game as Houston Baptist registered zero blocks (assists or solo) and the Sugar Bears tallied one.
It wasn’t until an 11-6 score in favor of Central Arkansas in the second set that a lead for either team extended beyond four points. The Sugar Bears began to widen the gap, leading 17-10 before Husky head coach Trent Herman called his second timeout of the set. Houston Baptist would do its best to stop a one-sided scoring run but could not disrupt the offensive rhythm at UCA’s front line. The Sugar Bears held off a late onslaught from the Huskies and took set two by a score of 25-21.
Central Arkansas posted a .333 hitting percentage through two sets while Houston Baptist hit .261. Sophomore right side hitter Samantha Anderson led the Sugar Bears with 10 kills (.381 hitting percentage) with sophomore Haley Tippett right behind her with nine (.333). Freshman setter Elizabeth Armstrong orchestrated UCA’s attack with 29 assists.
The third set saw much of the same back-and-forth action, with the Sugar Bears holding a slight edge and Herman calling his first timeout with the Huskies down 11-7. They would then go on one of longest scoring runs of the match, knotting the game at 12-12 with a 5-1 run. The Sugar Bears hung with them as the Huskies carved out a slight 18-15 lead going into Central Arkansas’ second timeout. The run did not stop for HBU, but Central Arkansas would not go away and Herman was forced into his final timeout clinging to a 23-21 lead.
While it looked as if Houston Baptist had momentum enough to close out the set, UCA took them down to the last point and then some, forcing HBU to squeeze out a 29-27 win to force set four.
Central Arkansas’ dismal hitting percentage in the third set (.019) was countered by an impressive defensive performance at the net, registering six total team blocks (10 assists, one solo). The Huskies’ hitting percentage took a dive in the third set as well (.118) as their defense too had to step up, notching two total team blocks and 28 digs.
The fourth set was very similar, with 13 ties, five lead changes and nobody looking like the clear favorite as the set came down to the final points. The Huskies pulled ahead 22-21 as UCA took their second timeout of the set, looking to set themselves up for a four-set match win. The two sides continued to trade points, tying at 23-23 before HBU took their second timeout as well. Extra points would be necessary again after drawing level at 24, 25 and 26 before Central Arkansas put down the final two points for the 3-1 match win in front of a roaring Farris Center crowd.
The Sugar Bears hit .212 for the match with 62 kills while the Huskies hit .192 with 54 kills. Three Houston Baptist players were in double figures for kills: Bailey Banks (17), Melissa Fuchs (12) and Blair Gillard (10). Anderson emphatically led the way for UCA with 23 kills (.340 hitting percentage) while Tippett notched 13 and Megan Nash put down 11. Both teams stonewalled each other at the net, with the Sugar Bears totaling nine team blocks and HBU eight.
Central Arkansas advances to take on undefeated No. 1 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. in the semifinals on the
Southland Digital Network.