Central Arkansas volleyball drops Rebel Classic finale to Ole Miss

Central Arkansas closed out the Rebel Classic with a 3-0 loss to Ole Miss on Sunday in Oxford, Miss.

The Rebels won by set scores of 25-18, 25-18 and 25-17 to hand UCA its fifth straight loss to open the season.

Ole Miss controlled the match from a hitting standpoint.

The Rebels finished with 42 kills and hit .376 as a team. Bears struggled to keep pace offensively and finished with 33 kills while hitting just .188.

The first set didn’t start well for UCA. Ole Miss jumped out to a 5-0 lead before McKinzee Haas ended the run with a kill off an assist from Sophie Skinner.

An Olivia Kremer ace pulled Bears within three points at 11-8, but the Rebels answered with five unanswered points to build their cushion back up.

Sarah Carnathan chipped in a kill and a service ace during a later stretch, though Ole Miss still closed out the set 25-18.

Set two brought more of the same trouble early. UCA fell behind 17-11 before Kennady Martindale and Greyson Button sparked a rally with a pair of kills.

Martindale strung together three straight points on her own, including two in a row that trimmed the deficit to 19-15. Ole Miss held on from there to take the set 25-18.

Martindale sets career highs in loss

Bears hung around longest in the third set. Kills from Martindale and Nicole Sargent kept the score within two points at 13-11 midway through.

That’s when Ole Miss pulled away for good, ripping off seven straight points that included four service aces from Jaidyn Hartsfield to make it 20-11.

Annie Hopkins added three kills late for UCA, but the Rebels finished the set 25-17 to seal the sweep.

Martindale was the bright spot for Bears. She notched a team-high 11 kills without a single error on 25 attempts, a career high, and hit .440 for the match, also a personal best.

Setter Tatelyn Brandsma ran the offense with a match-leading 20 assists, while Cameron McDaniel paced the defense with 12 digs.

Karlyn Frazier added two blocks along with three kills.

UCA now sits at 0-5 on the season. Bears head to Hawaii next for a matchup against the Rainbow Wahine on Friday, Sept. 11.