The Beach Bears (1-7) had their second Tournament of the season at Louisiana State University, ending with one win and three losses, on March 4th and 5th.
“The University of Central Arkansas Bears finally broke through into the win column against Southeast Louisiana on Saturday, but fell short in the final three games in Baton Rouge,” according to UCA Sports.
Central Arkansas started off well in the first set against South East Louisiana, winning 4-1.
Senior Julia Oravec and senior Evelyn Griffith won their first match 21-14, but had a hard time in the second and third sets, losing 21-10 and 15-11.
Sophomore Ryenne Gepford and junior Bria Garmon had a victory in the first set 21-9 and in the second set 24-22.
While Gepford and Garmon were successful, Junior Payton Sproule and graduate student Kayla Cook struggled in their first match, being defeated 21-17.
The pair made a recovery in their second match, winning 21-11.
Their third match ended with another win, finishing with a score of 16-14.
Junior Marrisa Gilmore and Freshman Anna Linskey won the match with two sets of 21-17 and 15-7.
With two matches left Junior Charlie Tidwell and Freshman Madelyn White had two winning sets of 21-16 and 21-19.
After this win, the Beach Bears had a hard time staying on top until the last match against Tusculum.
Their next opponent was the University of Alabama at Birmingham, ending with UCA losing 4-1.
Starting the match-up, Orave and Griffith had a difficult first match losing both sets to UAB Dragons.
The bears continued the rough set, with only Gepford and Garmon winning a set.
The first set for Gepford and Garmon was rough but the two recovered by winning the second and third sets, 21-18 and 15-10.
The tournament took a turn for the worst for UCA, with a 5-0 loss.
“UCA’s upset bid fell flat on Sunday morning, as they were shut out by the nationally ranked Gamecocks. South Carolina made quick work of the Bears, as well, with no Bear players even winning a set,” said UCA Sports. “UCA falls to 0-2 all-time against South Carolina, with 5-0 losses in back-to-back seasons.”
The final game of the tournament was a turnaround for the team, and a better match compared to the prior two games.
The winning matches were by players Oravec, Griffith, Gepford, and Garmon.
Oravec and Griffith defeated Tusculum 21-15 in the first set, then 21-16 in the second match.
Up next, was Gepford and Garmon, with a winning first match of 21-14 and a winning third match of 15-10.
“The Tusculum University beach volleyball team finished up the Tiger Beach Challenge on Sunday, March 5, winning the opener 3-2 against Central Arkansas,” said Tusculum Sports.
Regardless of win or loss, the bears are one step closer to their next tournament against Austin Pea, Lindenwood and UT Martin, on March 17th and 18th.