Volleyball Falls in Five Sets to Central Arkansas on Friday

The Central Connecticut volleyball team pushed Central Arkansas to five sets before dropping the season opener at the Georgetown Classic on Friday at McDonough Arena in Washington, DC. Senior Madelyn Kaprelyan posted 13 kills, 21 assists and eight digs, while junior Emma Henderson had a team-high 18 kills. The Blue Devils took the first game before the Sugar Bears captured the next two games. CCSU would force game five, but UCA would win the deciding game to win the match. 

GAME INFORMATION
Score: CCSU 2, Central Arkansas 3 (21-25, 25-16, 25-22, 22-25, 15-10)
Records: CCSU (0-1), Central Arkansas (2-0)
Location: Georgetown Classic (McDonough Arena | Washington, DC)

COACH QUOTE

"We put up such good numbers tonight, but Central Arkansas had the momentum at the end," said head coach Linda Sagnelli. "Our core of passes handled the ball so well and hopefully we can continue to build off of that performance."

KEY MOMENTS 

• CCSU used a 6-1 run in the opening game to break a 15-15 tie en route to winning the opening frame, 25-21.
• UCA never trailed in games two and three. The Sugar Bears built a 19-10 lead with a 6-1 run in the second game. In game three, UCA built a 17-10 lead with five straight points. CCSU would get within a point (22-21), but UCA closed on a 3-1 run.
• The Blue Devils rallied in game four and led throughout the frame. Junior Samantha McCreath had back-to-back kills to set up game point at 24-20.
• The Sugar Bears scored the first seven points of the fifth game and never let CCSU get closer than, 11-8.

NUMBER TO KNOW

30 – Senior Erin McDermott posted the second-highest single-match assist total of her career with 30 assists.

NOTES 

• The Georgetown Classic tournament page with links to live stats and video is available here: http://guhoyas.com/sports/2019/8/26/2019-georgetown-classic.aspx.
• Kaprelyan, the 2018 Northeast Conference Player of the Year, posted a double-double and added a team-high four blocks with eight digs. She had nine double-doubles as a junior.
• Central was 1-3 in five-set matches in 2018, including a loss in the Northeast Conference Tournament semifinals.
• Henderson narrowly missed a double-double with nine digs. 
• Junior Samantha McCreath had nine kills, seven digs and two aces for the Blue Devils. Classmate Ashlyn Eisenga had a team-high 22 digs.

UP NEXT
Central continues play at the Georgetown Classic on Saturday with matches against Rider and Georgetown. Links to live stats and video for the tournament are available HERE.