The Sugar Bears served up a victory over the Eastern Kentucky Colonels in a five-set battle Nov. 15, solidifying their second-place standing in the ASUN Conference. 

“Eastern Kentucky is a four-seed team in our conference, and we are the three-seed team,” Coach John Newberry said. “We knew that this was going to be a really big match for us and for them, their next to last home game. So there’s always some extra things on the line with the in-the-season conference match against a couple of the top two teams. This match was really, really important for whoever was going to win was going to be seated in the conference tournament.”

The Sugar Bears (15-11, ASUN 12-3) had the first score of the match, but the Colonels (19-9, ASUN 10-5) ended up winning the first set by 16 (25-9).

The Sugar Bears scored their first two points and three of their first five due to service errors.

“The biggest key moment was our response after getting beat 25 to nine in that first set,” he said. “We did not play well, did not look focused, and so the biggest moment was coming back out of that set, knowing that we just got to get on the same page. And the girls did, and they were able to persevere through the remainder of the match.”

After losing the opening set, the Sugar Bears bounced back in the second and fourth sets with a balanced attack and improved efficiency, posting hitting percentages of .389 and .333, respectively.

The Sugar Bears’ offense was led by outside hitters freshman Regan Harp, sophomore Laci Bohannan and senior Mackenzie Vernon, who each recorded 16 kills. 

Vernon had the highest hitting percentage of the match for the Sugar Bears at .256 on 39 swings. 

The team posted 58 total kills while taking advantage of seven critical service errors by EKU.  

Junior setter Caylan Koons tallied 45 assists, 14 digs and five blocks.

Koons said, “This weekend really showed our adversity and hard work and how we never give up.”

Junior libero Alexis McDaniel recorded a match-high 36 digs to anchor the Sugar Bears’ defense. 

Newberry said, “She did not have a good start, but she finished incredibly starting in our second set, and we ended up playing five sets. But starting in our second set, she really, really stood out and made some incredible plays to keep us, keep us continuing on some point runs.”

The Sugar Bears totaled 91 digs and 12 blocks as a team, with middle blockers senior Allison Holloway and sophomore Greyson Button combining for 11 block assists.  

In the fifth set, the Sugar Bears executed key plays, with Button and Holloway delivering timely blocks and Vernon scoring critical points to secure the victory.  

“When we got into the fifth set, we kind of pulled ahead a little bit,” Newberry said. “It was right at the end of the match when the referees did not give the other team a call. That was actually a defining moment. Right then, it pushed us in a three-point lead and kind of gave us a little bit of breathing room so we can just play calm and disciplined.”

Newberry said, “Now that the conference season is completely done and we’re moving into the postseason part in our conference tournament, there’s a chance to potentially get a ring and go to the NCAA tournament. So the girls are extremely focused and extremely motivated to give it everything that they have for the remainder of our season.”

The Sugar Bears defeated the Bellarmine Knights in a 3-2 victory Nov. 18 and will go on to play in the ASUN Championship tournament Nov. 21-23.