http://www.ucasports.com/news/2017/5/26/VB_052617.aspxVery nice.......love our VolleyBears!!!
Conway – PrepVolleyball.com released its annual recruiting class rankings on Thursday, and for the second-straight year the Central Arkansas Sugar Bears were included among the nation's top classes, earning Honorable Mentions status.
"I'm very proud of our program receiving the Honorable Mention ranking two years in a row," said UCA head coach Jeni Jones Chatman. "Recruiting is your lifeline to success in college athletics. My staff and our incredible student-athletes are the reason for this recognition. My staff works countless hours watching video, talking with coaches and recruits, doing in-person evaluations, and with on-campus visits to seek out those that will be great ambassadors of UCA and our volleyball programs."
Chatman also credited her current players, saying, "Our current players truly invest in this process during our on-campus visits. We feel that they are the best ambassadors for our program, because they are the ones that are going through all the workouts, practices, road trips, and matches on a weekly, and sometimes daily, basis. Their experience in those moments is challenging, exciting, and purposeful. The rapport we develop with our players is not just player/coach, it goes well beyond that. It is us teaching them life lessons, and them teaching us as well. The goofy, silly moments, the adrenaline rush of wins, and the difficult moments of loss and setback all combine to create these experiences and, at the end of a four or five year career, ends with them leaving UCA with an incredible degree that has set them up to be successful in all they choose to pursue."
Central Arkansas' 2017 class, which is the only one in the Southland Conference to be included on PrepVolleyball's list, will contribute in all phases of the game. The Sugar Bears will welcome middle blocker/right side Mallory Carty (Germantown, Tenn.), defensive specialist Emily Doss (Springdale, Ark.), middle blocker Amari Mitchell (Arlington, Texas), middle blocker Ravin Rhodes (Compton, Calif.), and setter Bailey Waddington (San Angelo, Texas) for the 2017 season. The group will join All-Southland Conference honorees Megan Nash (First Team), Samantha Anderson (Honorable Mention), and Haley Tippett (Honorable Mention) as the Sugar Bears look to build on an SLC Tournament Semifinals appearance.
"I am one of the most fortunate people on the planet," said Chatman. "I get to do this every day and I get to do it with incredible people, athletes, and administrators, and I get to do it for a university that values all the things we value as a program. The tremendous faculty and staff, as well as our gorgeous campus, make UCA a place where prospective student-athletes want to be."
Chatman and the Sugar Bears will open the 2017 season with a pair of matches in Buffalo, New York on August 25th. UCA will take on Canisius at 11:00 AM CT before facing off with Hampton at 3:00 PM CT.