FORT SMITH - Another chapter for the history books.
Seniors outside hitter Kennedi Coleman and senior middle hitter Merrisa Murphy combined for 28 kills to lead the No. 1 seed UAFS volleyball team in a sweep of No. 2 Lubbock Christian on Saturday in the championship match of the Heartland Conference Tournament at the Stubblefield Center.
UAFS won the title match 25-16, 25-17, 27-25 and clinched the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division II South Central Region Tournament.
It was the fifth conference tournament title in six tries for the Lady Lions, who are the only league team to win five tournament titles. No league team has won more than two conference tournament championships. It also was the Lady Lions’ third-consecutive conference tournament title.
“It was a total team effort today. We served the ball really well. Kennedi and Merrisa were lights out hitting the ball. We had a one-two punch there. (UAFS senior middle hitters ) Payton Hamilton and Shannon Thompson did their part, and (sophomore outside hitter) Maddie Gilliam did her part by keeping the ball in play,” UAFS coach Jane Sargent said.
“Our hitters were on, and our defense was stellar as usual. We had a game plan going in – the same as (Friday’s match) – and we executed it well. We stumbled a little bit that third set, but we were able to pull it out in the end. I’m very, very proud of these girls, and we are peaking at the right time.”
Since the volleyball program was added at UAFS in 1998, the Lady Lions have advanced to their respective conference tournament’s title match (region tournament title match in junior college) every season they were eligible for postseason play.
As a junior college program, UAFS won its region tournament 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and finished runner-up in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2004. As a NCAA Division II program, UAFS won the conference tournament in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015 and finished as runner-up in 2013.
UAFS (24-5) won its 21st match in a row and improved to 10-0 all-time against Lubbock Christian (19-11), which beat No. 3 seed St. Edward’s in four sets in the tournament semifinals to reach its first conference tournament title match.
The Lady Lions had a near perfect mix of offense and defense in beating the Lady Chaps.
UAFS hit at a 0.245 clip with 46 kills on 151 attempts with only nine errors. Coleman, who was named MVP of the tournament, had 15 kills on 39 attempts with only one error and compiled a 0.359 hitting percentage, and Murphy, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, had 13 kills on 24 attempts with no errors and compiled a 0.542 hitting percentage.
“We have to give it to our back row for telling us what is open and what’s not. (Lubbock Christian libero) Kelsie French is amazing, and you aren’t getting anything past her,” Coleman said. “Without (senior libero Emily) Tripp and (freshman defensive specialist) Marika (Stiles) telling us where the open spots are, we can’t do our job. They were telling us what was open.”
Freshman setter Erin Black had a team-high 35 assists and served five of the Lady Lions’ six aces.
Lubbock Christian had five total blocks with sophomore outside hitter Emily Hanaway collected one solo block and two assists. French had a team-high 37 digs.
The Lady Lions, who swept No. 4 seed Newman on Friday, held the Lady Chaps to a 0.144 hitting percentage with 42 kills on 146 attempts with 21 errors. Lubbock Christian’s best set, though, was the third, when it hit a solid 0.298 with 20 kills on 47 attempts with six errors.
Senior right-side hitter Christiana Tavo had a team-high 11 kills, while sophomore outside hitter Lauren Zoller and Hanaway had 10 kills apiece. Junior setter Mallory Powell had a team-high 37 assists, and Hanaway served both of the Lady Chaps’ aces.
UAFS collected six total blocks. Hamilton had one solo block and two block assists. Senior libero Emily Tripp, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, had a team-high 33 digs.
“Our front line was awesome,” Sargent said of her defense. “We are so athletic, and we feel like we have this wall out there at times. We have a 6-foot-2, a 6-1 and a 5-10 kid who can jump out of the gym. You put Payton in there, Maddie is very athletic and Erin is a 6-foot-1 setter. We are a tough team. Our blocking is the first line of defense, and if just let the ball go, our back row is going to dig everything up.”
The Lady Lions will play in their fifth overall and third-consecutive NCAA Division II South Central Region Tournament. UAFS, which is the twice-defending region champion, is ranked No. 5 in the current South Central Region Poll.
Region tournament pairings will be announced during a live selection show broadcast on NCAA.com at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.