No. 2 Seed Central Arkansas Banishes No. 7 Seed Northwestern State
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NATCHITOCHES, La. – No. 2 Central Arkansas topped tournament host No. 7 seed Northwestern State Friday evening in a five-set contest that featured one player from each team posting double-double figures. UCA’s Haley Tippett sounded off for 12 digs and 21 kills while Northwestern State’s Hannah Brister put up 14 digs and 19 kills.
The Sugar Bears combined for 71 kills and 71 digs with Kellen Dunn accounting for a .326 attack percentage. Samantha Anderson notched 17 kills of her own while Savannah Allen (11) concluded the UCA players in double figures in the kills category. Elizabeth Armstrong (44) and Bailey Waddington (18) combined for 62 of the Sugar Bears 65 assists.
Although they were labeled with the No. 7 seed, Northwestern State did not go down without a fight. Alexis Warren, nine kills and 11 digs, was one kill shy of joining Brister with a double-double performance. Reagan Rogers .318 hitting percentage was second only to Brister on the NSU roster.
Following the victory, the Sugar Bears will advance to the semifinal round to face off against No. 3 seed Sam Houston State Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on the
Southland Digital Network.
Set One
Northwestern State came out of the gates strong on the way to a 25-20 win over UCA in the opening set. The Lady Demons never relinquished their lead over the Sugar Bears and recorded 16 kills on 29 swings for a staggering .483 hitting percentage. Sophomore Libero Hannah Brister recorded seven kills and three digs for NSU and played a crucial role in limiting Central Arkansas to a .114 attack percentage. UCA’s Samantha Anderson and Kellen Dunn accounted for four kills apiece.
Set Two
The Lady Demons continued their rampage on offense, this time combining for a .304 team hitting percentage that overpowered the Sugar Bears 25-19. Alexis Warren and Cayman Sutton showed their range as the pair combined for three aces. UCA seemed to find a groove at the net as they tacked on 14 kills. However, Central Arkansas’ defense also committed five crucial service errors that proved costly and gave life to the Northwestern State attack.
Set Three
Central Arkansas finally found their footing and turned the tables on the Lady Demons taking a 25-19 victory in the third set. Dunn erupted with eight of the Sugar Bear’s 19 kills, while Rayna Jefferis provided five digs for the UCA defense that forced five Northwestern State errors while limiting the Lady Demons to 10 kills on 32 attempts.
Set Four
The Sugar Bears were dominant in the fourth set cruising to a 25-15 victory over the Lady Demons. Although Northwestern State raced out to a 4-1 lead, Central Arkansas righted the ship and came storming back scoring six of the next eight points to take a 7-6 advantage. The teams traded points until a kill from Savannah Allen sparked a 13-4 run for the Sugar Bears that concluded the set. Haley Tippet was a force for UCA accounting for six kills on nine swings and no errors.
Set Five
Northwestern State jumped ahead first and found their way to an 8-6 advantage over Central Arkansas in the final set of the evening. Unfortunately for the Lady Demons, UCA evened the score up at 9-9 following a Northwestern State service error. Although NSU managed to regain a lead, Central Arkansas closed out the set with five of the last six points to garner the match win.