The Sugar Bears volleyball team marked its 9th consecutive conference loss Oct. 22 when it lost 3-1 against the North Florida Ospreys in a fast-paced match on the Bears’ home court.
UCA (6-16, 0-10 ASUN) battled against North Florida (12-12, 5-5 ASUN), but the Ospreys claimed a 3-1 victory after four close sets.
Set one started strong for the Bears, with a 9-3 lead within the first few minutes, but the Ospreys quickly caught up, bringing the score to 12-12 only minutes later.
The teams continued battling back and forth until North Florida went on a spree, racking up points leading to a 24-20 nail-biting brawl.
In those last minutes, it was a team effort to regain the point gap, with sophomore outside hitter Laci Bohannan scoring two kills, alongside another kill by junior middle blocker Allison Holloway.
While this got the Bears to 24-23, Ospreys redshirt sophomore setter Annie Antar finished with a kill, leaving the set 25-23.
The second set started in the Ospreys’ favor with a lead of 7-3.
Even after kills from junior right-side hitter Mackenzie Vernon and senior middle blocker April Conant, the set still stood at 10-5.
After swift back and forth, the Bears found their footing in the last moments of the set, prevailing over the Ospreys by one point, 21-20.
The teams battled for those last few points, but UCA reigned victorious with a 25-23 win.
Set three started with another point gap created by the Ospreys, with attack errors by Bohannan and Holloway giving points to North Florida, and the Ospreys’ Antar going on a point spree.
When the set reached 12-9, UCA refused to give up, bringing the score to an even 12-12. But the glory didn’t last long as the Ospreys swept the court, ending the set 25-19.
With the Ospreys having won two sets, the Bears mustered their spirits to keep up.
The first few minutes of the next set showed fast-paced back and forth, with the Ospreys not able to create a lead bigger than two points.
It was not long before North Florida monopolized the court and made the score 10-5.
The Bears fought back with several kills by Bohannan and senior defensive specialist and libero Lexie Gregory, settling the set 11-11.
This tie didn’t last long, and the Ospreys took control of the court once again.
Although hard-fought, the Bears stared down the barrel of a 10th conference loss, after not being able to recover from the Ospreys’ 5-point lead.
The game’s final set ended 25-20, bringing the match score to 3-1.
While the game was a struggle, the Bears showed promising technique, with setter and sophomore Caylan Koons racking up 46 assists, 14 digs and two aces.
Bohannan also showed her skills with 17 kills, 16 digs and one block.
The Bears will return to the court Oct. 25 to face the North Alabama Lions at 6 p.m. The game will be livestreamed on ESPN+.