FORT SMITH - A strong finish to the regular season last week propelled the UAFS volleyball team into a tie for second place in the Heartland Conference with the St. Mary’s Rattlers.
UAFS (18-11) swept Newman and beat regular-season champion Lubbock Christian in four sets – both on the road – and St. Mary’s (14-14) split its final two home matches, leaving the two teams with 8-4 conference records.
Lubbock Christian (21-8) won the conference with a 10-2 record with its only losses coming against St. Edward’s and UAFS. The Lady Chaps will be the No. 1 seed in this weekend’s conference tournament, which they will host at the Rip Griffin Center in Lubbock, Texas.
Lubbock Christian, which is ranked No. 10 in the recent NCAA Division II South Central Region Poll, will play No. 4 seed St. Edward’s (17-11) in the first round at 5 p.m. on Friday, while No. 2 seed St. Mary’s will play No. 3 seed UAFS at 7:30 p.m. The championship match will be at 1 p.m. on Saturday with the champion earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
Live statistics and live stream will be available.
UAFS has won the conference tournament five times over the past seven seasons – 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 – a feat accomplished by no other conference team, past or present. UAFS has played for the conference tournament championship match each of the past seven seasons – a feat accomplished by no other conference team, past or present.
It will, however, be the first time the Lady Lions enter the tournament seeded lower than second. UAFS was the No. 2 seed in 2011 when it beat regular-season champion and No. 1 seed St. Edward’s and was the regular-season champion and No. 1 seed in the next six conference tournaments.
It will be the fourth time UAFS and St. Mary’s have played each other in the conference tournament. The Lady Lions beat the Rattlers in the first round in 2013 and 2014 and lost to the Rattlers in the championship match last season.
UAFS is 18-4 all-time against St. Mary’s with two of those losses coming during this regular season – a four-set loss at the Stubblefield Center on Saturday, Oct. 6, and a three-set loss at Bill Greehey Arena in San Antonio, Texas, on Thursday, Oct. 7.