CONWAY, Ark. – The Lipscomb University volleyball team kept its undefeated road record alive in Atlantic Sun Conference play with a five-set victory over the University of Central Arkansas inside the Prince Center on Friday night.

Final Score: Lipscomb 3, Central Arkansas 2 (25-19, 20-25, 25-10, 19-25, 15-10)
Location: Conway, Arkansas (Prince Center)
Records: Lipscomb (15-10, 12-2), Central Arkansas (13-11, 10-3)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
LUV got out to a strong start with a 6-1 start after back-to-back kills by Meg Mersman. 

UCA made it an 11-9 affair midway through the first set that forced Lipscomb to burn a timeout, but the visitors pushed the lead back to six, 21-15 thanks to a Courtney Jones kill and a Sophia Hudepohl ace. 

The Bisons kept composure throughout with a 25-19 opening set victory. 

In the second set, the Sugar Bears responded and got out to a 9-5 lead. Unfortunately, a Bisons timeout did not stop the momentum from the home team, as an 11-6 run made it a 20-15 lead. 

Despite the Bisons matching the Sugar Bears in kills (14) and had a better attacking percentage (.364), the home team took advantage of four aces and three service errors by the Bisons to even the match at a set apiece with a 25-20 score. 

Set three was another story. The Bisons stormed out to a 6-1 lead and posted a 14-7 run to lead 20-8. 

LUV hit .560 in the third, posting 15 kills and committed one attack error in 25 swings to win the set, 25-10. 

UCA got back into the match and forced the fifth set with a 25-19 score thanks to Lipscomb's six service errors and eight from the front row. 

Central Arkansas rallied from a 7-3 deficit in the fifth to even it up at nine, but a Jones kill gave the Bisons the side out.

Ahead 13-10 after an attack error by UCA, Sophia Hudepohl went to the service line for the ace to secure match point. On the next rally, an Addi Pelham and Berkley Mischler combined block grabbed the match for the Bisons.

Securing the win, the Bisons remain undefeated on road matches in the ASUN (6-0), while handing the Sugar Bears their first loss at home this season (7-1). 

With the win, the Bisons take sole possession of second place in the ASUN standings with two matches to go. With a win over North Alabama on Sunday, Lipscomb will solidify a top-four seed in the upcoming ASUN Championship on Nov. 21-23. 

KEY STATISTICS
Courtney Jones paced the offense with 18 kills and hit .359 on the night, while Libby Steinhart posted a match-high 16 digs.

Addi Pelham set a new season-high with 15 kills and a .619 swing percentage, committing two errors on 21 total swings. 

Karlie McNabb totaled 11 kills, while Meg Mersman missed a double-double with nine kills and eight total blocks. 

Sophia Hudepohl assisted on 52 of the team's 63 kills and saw 106 of the team's 133 attacks. The junior also added nine digs. 

HERD NOTES
Lipscomb improves to 6-0 in road matches inside conference play this season and have won its last seven dating back to last season. 

The Bisons picked up their 15th win of the season, marking the 17th time in the last 18 seasons the program has achieved this feat, including three straight.

UP NEXT
Lipscomb's second leg of the final three-match road swing will take place on Sunday afternoon at North Alabama.