UAPB Sweep Central Baptist 3-0 in Home Opener

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UAPB Sweep Central Baptist 3-0 in Home Opener

8/29/2017 10:01:00 PM

By: UAPB Sports Information

Box Score Pine Bluff, AR. – The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff volleyball team earned its first win of the regular season by sweeping the Central Baptist Mustangs, 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-13), on Tuesday night in front of a pack house inside H.O. Clemmons Arena.

"It's always great to get your first win of the season," head coach Dustin Sahlmann said. "For the most being that we are so young, it was a learning experience. I'm very proud of our team that when they were pushed we pushed back and were able to finish especially in the second set, after being down."

The Lady Lions (1-3) was led on offensive by freshman Kaitlyn Hapke and sophomore Kendalle Howard. Hapke with nine kills, four digs and two blocks. She held a .368 hitting percentage. Howard recorded eight kills and one ace.

Sophomore Britney Sahlmann paced the Lady Lions with 22 assists, respectively. Senior Jade Sanlin had a team-high 12 digs, while freshman Taylor Sheppy had 10. Freshman Terin Nalls led the team with four blocks.

UAPB got on the scoreboard first in the first set and led until Central Baptist took a 9-6 lead. The Lady Lions won the next seven points to reclaim the lead 13-9. Central Baptist wouldn't go down without a fight, however. UAPB led 16-10, but the Lady Mustangs cut into the lead to four 18-14. UAPB regroup and went on to score the next seven out 10 points to seal the first set.

UAPB and Central Baptist went back-and-forth to begin the second set, as neither team gained a lead larger than two. The Lady Lions eventually pulled away after winning three points in a row to take a 22-21 lead. UAPB closed out the match by scoring 3 of the last 4 points.

The third frame started out slow 4-3, before UAPB took four consecutive points to build an early 8-3 lead in the first set. The Lady Mustangs (3-1) fought back, but UAPB pushed its lead to 23-13, with an error by Central Baptist, a service ace by Sanlin and a kill by Nalls to end the match.

The UAPB Lady Lions will travel to the Redhawk Invitational in Cape Girardeau, Mo. hosted by Southeast Missouri State from Sept. 1-2. UAPB opens the tournament against University of Evansville on Friday at 10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. against Southeast Missouri State. The Lady Lions finishes the tournament Saturday against Morgan State at 11 a.m.

For all the latest information about UAPB, follow @UAPBVolleyball or @UAPBLionsRoar on Twitter.

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