The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears were defeated in three straight sets by Eastern Kentucky University on Sunday at the Prince Center in Conway, Arkansas. The match ended with set scores of 25–20, 25–20, and 26–24 in favor of EKU.
Central Arkansas, now holding a record of 10–10 overall and 7–3 in ASUN conference play, struggled to counter EKU’s offense. The Colonels improved their record to 15–7 overall and matched UCA’s conference mark at 7–3. Eastern Kentucky finished the match with a .389 team hitting percentage.
Laci Bohannan led the Sugar Bears’ offense with nine kills. Teammates Samantha Cousins and Greyson Button contributed eight kills each, while Button also recorded a .375 hitting percentage. McKinzee Haas added six kills and three block assists for UCA. Setter Caylan Koons tallied 20 assists during the contest, and Alexis McDaniel led defensively with 17 digs along with two service aces.
Eastern Kentucky was paced by AG Hynes with twelve kills and Emilee Hill who had eleven; both combined for only three errors throughout the match. Four players from EKU posted hitting percentages above .400.
After losing the first two sets, Central Arkansas mounted a comeback effort in the third set that featured twelve tied scores. However, EKU closed out on a late run to secure the sweep.
“The Sugar Bears will look to bounce back next week as ASUN play continue as they head to North Alabama.”
