Liberty Sweeps UCA, Maintains ASUN Lead with 8th Win in a Row

Liberty met Central Arkansas in a battle for the No. 1 seed in the ASUN, with the Flames sweeping the Sugar Bears (25-12, 25-22, 25-12) on Sunday at the Prince Center.

Liberty (19-7) wins its eighth straight match and maintains a one-match lead over second-place FGCU for first place in ASUN standings with two matches left. Central Arkansas (18-9) had a chance to move into a tie for first place in ASUN standings, but falls into a third-place tie with Jacksonville State and Lipscomb at 10-4 in conference play.

Notable Numbers

• Liberty hit .337 for the match and held UCA to a season-low .011 hitting percentage thanks in part to 14 Lady Flames blocks. Liberty also led in kills (41-24) and digs (40-31), while the Sugar Bears held a 5-3 advantage in aces.

• Kamryn Bacus scored a match-high 10 kills for the Lady Flames, while Trinity Watts (.389, eight digs, six blocks) and Kate Phillips (.353, 12 digs) posted nine kills each. Madison Blane hit .667 with eight kills while also adding a match-high seven blocks. Delaney Dilfer totaled 29 assists, five digs and three blocks, and Lydia Burts tied with Blane for the match lead with seven blocks.

• Lilly Taylor led Central Arkansas with seven kills, while Caylan Koons dished out 15 assists and served up two aces.

Turning Point

• Liberty cruised to a 25-12 set-one victory, hitting .350 while holding UCA to a -.125 hitting percentage.

• UCA took a 21-19 lead in the second set, using a quick 4-1 rally. However, Liberty closed to the finish, as Blane assisted on three blocks during a set-ending 6-1 run for the Flames and Watts ended the set at 25-22 with a kill.

Quick Hits

• Liberty is now 2-0 all-time against Central Arkansas in volleyball.

• With two matches left, Liberty needs just one win or one FGCU loss to clinch the No. 1 seed for the ASUN Volleyball Championship. Liberty’s last regular-season championship came in 2012, which was also the last time the Lady Flames won a conference tournament title.

• Dilfer’s 1,104 assists this season are the most by a Liberty player since Caila Stapleton dished out 1,126 assists during the 2014 season. 2012, which was also the last time the Lady Flames won a conference tournament title.

• Burts’ 119 blocks so far this year are the most by a Liberty player since Jade Vorster posted 145 blocks in 2014.

• The Lady Flames, at 12-2 in ASUN play, have posted their most conference wins in a single season since going 12-2 in Big South play during the 2012 season.

• Liberty’s current eight-match winning streak is its longest under current Head Coach Trevor Johnson and longest since winnings eight in a row, Sept. 30 through Oct. 22, 2016.

• Liberty needs one more win for its 23rd 20-win season in program history and first since going 21-12 in 2019.

Up Next

Liberty will play its last two regular season matches next weekend, beginning on Friday at 6 p.m. against Eastern Kentucky at Liberty Arena. The Lady Flames will then play at Bellarmine, Sunday at 1 p.m. to wrap up the regular season.