FORT SMITH – UAFS kept a grip on first place in the Heartland Conference on Thursday night as the Lady Lions volleyball team swept the St. Edward’s Hilltoppers at the Stubblefield Center.
The Lady Lions won the match 25-13, 25-14, 25-14 to sweep the regular-season series against the Hilltoppers, who lost to the Lady Lions in four sets in the first encounter at the Recreation and Convocation Center in Austin, Texas.
UAFS (20-6, 7-1), which posted its 19th 20-win season in the program’s 20-year history, will finish the conference home stand at 1 p.m. on Saturday when the Lady Lions host the Dallas Baptist Patriots at the Stubblefield Center.
The Lady Lions dominated defensively, holding the Hilltoppers to a 0.018 hitting percentage with 24 kills on 114 attempts with 22 errors. Senior outside hitter Katie Martin led the Hilltoppers with nine kills. Sophomore setter Olivia Rome had a team-high 10 assists.
UAFS collected five total team blocks. Junior middle hitter Debra Roger led the Lady Lions with two solo blocks and three assists. The Lady Lions had 62 digs with junior libero Autumn Reese collecting a team-high 24 digs.
The Lady Lions hit at a 0.248 clip with 43 kills on 109 attempts with 16 errors, but they hit a combined 0.318 in the final two sets with 31 kills on 69 attempts with nine errors. Sophomore outside hitter Anna Demmer had a team-high 10 kills to lead an otherwise balanced offensive attack and also served two of the Lady Lions’ three aces.
Senior setter Susannah Kelley had 36 assists.
St. Edward’s (14-9, 4-5) had five total team blocks. Freshman middle hitter Jacque Lozier had two solo blocks and three block assists. The Hilltoppers had 45 digs with junior libero Morgan Beckham collecting a team-high 13 digs.
