The Prince Center was packed with purple Nov. 5 as four senior Sugar Bears served on their home court one last time.
The Sugar Bears (8-18, 2-12 ASUN) took on the No. 7 ranked Bellarmine University Knights (9-17, 7-7 ASUN) in their final home match of the season and third to last match of the conference season.
Among receiving flowers and gift baskets, the seniors also scored the ultimate gift of sweeping all three sets and winning the match over Bellarmine.
“Thank you guys so much for coming out for our last home game, it means so much to us, and definitely ending on a sweep,” senior Lexie Gregory said to the crowd after the match.
The four seniors — Charleston Tidwell, April Conant, Macy Blackburn and Lexie Gregory — were recognized both before and after the match.
All the seniors except Blackburn, who has been out for the season due to an injury, started the match against the Knights.
Bellarmine took the early lead in the first set, running up five points on the Sugar Bears before they could respond with a kill from junior middle blocker Allison Holloway.
The Knights held the lead in the first match by six points — the largest margin they had in all three sets — with a score of 11-4, before the Sugar Bears cut into the lead, bringing the team within two points of Bellarmine.
A kill by sophomore outside hitter Laci Bohannan gave the team its first lead of the set, which UCA held onto until it secured the first-set win 25-18.
The Sugar Bears capitalized on their first win and entered the second set with a confident, determined energy.
UCA scored first in the second set, but the Knights responded, starting a back-and-forth battle between Bellarmine and the Sugar Bears; however, the Knights only led the set once with a score of 3-2 before UCA took back the lead for the remainder of the set.
Bellarmine cut into the lead several times with a five-point run bringing them within a point of the Sugar Bears in the middle of the set, but the team stayed on top and won the second set 25-21.
The energy in the Prince Center was high as the team entered its third and final set.
Despite the outcome of the season thus far, the fans were loud and the team was energetic as they looked to clinch their second conference win of the season.
Coach John Newberry said, “I really think the girls are just stepping up and rising to the occasion now because they know they can beat anybody in this conference.”
The Knights challenged the Sugar Bears in the third set by taking the early lead.
The set was close, with the teams sitting at a 13-13 tie before Tidwell made a kill that changed the direction of the set in UCA’s favor.
Tidwell’s kill was the beginning of a five-point scoring streak for the Sugar Bears.
Bellarmine brought the game back within two points, but UCA went on another five-point scoring spree, bringing them just shy of the set and match win at 23-16.
Junior rightside hitter Mackenzie Vernon made a kill that brought the game to match point. Conant and sophomore setter Caylan Koons’ block led to an attack error by the Knights, which resulted in the end of the third and final set with UCA on top 25-17.
Newberry said, “This is a great team win, especially for our seniors. We didn’t change a single thing. Everybody stuck to the game plan, we adjusted a couple of things during the match and the team was resilient in order to make that adjustment and still execute.”
After the match, Newberry said a few words about each of the seniors and allowed them to also speak to the fans and the team as a last farewell to their time in the UCA volleyball program.
The four seniors expressed their gratitude toward UCA, their families, friends, teammates and God for the support and dedication they’ve received throughout their athletic careers.
Each teared up when they spoke about how much their teammates at UCA meant to them.
Two of the seniors, Blackburn and Tidwell, will continue their athletic careers by playing volleyball at their respective postgraduate universities as they both have remaining years of eligibility due to being injured during their time at UCA.
The team has two more games left in its season. The Sugar Bears will play Lipscomb University at 6 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 9, followed by their final match at Austin Peay State University at 4 p.m., Friday, Nov. 10.