CORALVILLE, Iowa — West Florida defeated Central Arkansas 3-1 on Saturday at Xtream Arena, hitting .632 in each of the final two sets to close the match with dominant 25-11 and 25-13 set victories.
The teams traded points early in the opening set before Lizzy Kwiatkowski's service ace tied it at 8-8. After Central Arkansas moved back in front 9-8 and later evened the set at 10-10, West Florida answered with an Emily Breazeale kill, a Karyna Werley kill and consecutive Aniston Cochran aces during a five-point run that gave the Argos a 15-10 lead. Central Arkansas cut the margin to 18-15, but West Florida responded with four straight points, highlighted by a Kumara Flanagain kill, a block by Talya Sampson and Delaney Hanowell, and a Maddie Mire ace. The Argos closed the set with two more blocks before a Central Arkansas attack error finished the 25-17 win.
Sampson opened the second set with a kill, but Central Arkansas answered by building a 10-3 advantage. The Sugar Bears extended the margin to 14-4 behind kills from Karlyn Frazier, Nicole Sargent and Ella Chaney, along with an Olivia Kremer service ace. West Florida found points through Sampson, Breazeale and Flanagain, but Central Arkansas remained in control and pushed its lead to 23-13. The Argos put together a late three-point run before a block by Greyson Button and Sarah Carnathan gave Central Arkansas the set, 25-17.
West Florida responded in the third, using kills by Sampson and Flanagain to build an early 7-2 lead. Breazeale added a kill and teamed with Cochran for a block as the Argos stretched the advantage to 11-4. Werley later served four straight points during a run that pushed the lead to 16-5 behind two blocks and two Central Arkansas attack errors. Kwiatkowski and Sampson added kills down the stretch, and Madison Joyner served the final three points, including an ace that closed the 25-11 win.
After Central Arkansas scored the first point of the fourth set, West Florida moved ahead 5-2 behind two Kwiatkowski kills, a Mire ace and a Sampson kill. The Sugar Bears stayed within 14-11, but consecutive kills from Kwiatkowski started a six-point run that included three Cochran aces and extended the lead to 20-11. Central Arkansas briefly stopped the run with a block, but Sampson put down four kills over West Florida's final five points, including the match-clincher, to secure the 25-13 victory.
Sampson finished with 20 kills on 27 attacks without an error, hitting .741 and totaling 21 points. Cochran recorded six service aces and five blocks while contributing 10.5 points. Kwiatkowski totaled 19 assists, seven kills on eight attacks and three digs, while Camryn Brooks collected a team-high 12 digs and added three assists.
West Florida will open ASUN Conference play on Saturday, Sept. 26, when it travels to Charlotte, North Carolina, to face Queens. First serve is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Curry Arena.
