FORT SMITH, Ark. – With the Heartland Conference regular-season title and No. 1 seed in the upcoming conference tournament already secured, the UAFS volleyball team will look to continue building momentum as the regular season draws to a close this week.
UAFS will host the Newman Jets at 6 p.m. on Thursday in the conference finale and will host the Southeastern Oklahoma State Savage Storm at 1 p.m. on Friday in the regular-season finale at the Stubblefield Center.
Thursday’s match against Newman also will be broadcast on KHGG-AM 1580 and 101.1 FM.
The Lady Lions (23-6, 10-1) beat the St. Mary’s Rattlers and the Texas A&M International Dustdevils this past weekend to clinch their sixth-consecutive, regular-season, conference title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, which they will host on Nov. 17-18 at the Stubblefield Center.
Three teams have qualified for the four-team conference tournament – No. 1 seed UAFS, No. 2 seed St. Mary’s and No. 3 seed Lubbock Christian. St. Edward’s and Dallas Baptist will play each other at noon on Saturday with the winner earning the No. 4 seed.
UAFS will play the St. Edward’s/Dallas Baptist winner in the first round of the conference tournament at 5 p.m. on Nov. 17, while St. Mary’s will play Lubbock Christian at 7:30 p.m. The two winners will play at 1 p.m. in the championship game on Nov. 18 with the winner earning the conference’s automatic bid to the national tournament.
The Lady Lions have compiled a 0.230 hitting percentage. Sophomore outside hitter Anna Demmer leads the team in kills (408), kills per set (4.08) and aces (38), and junior middle hitter Debra Rogers leads the team in hitting percentage (0.296). Senior setter Susannah Kelley leads the team in assists (1,160) and assists per set (10.94).
UAFS, which beat Newman in three sets in the first match of the series this season, has held opponents to a 0.138 hitting percentage. Rogers leads the team in solo blocks (39), block assists (91), total blocks (130) and blocks per set (1.23). Junior libero Autumn Reese leads the team in digs (746) and digs per set (7.04).
Newman (11-19, 4-7) has lost three of its past four matches and is coming off a three-set loss to St. Mary’s on Saturday.
The Jets have compiled a 0.194 hitting percentage. Senior right-side hitter Emily Harvey leads the team in kills (388) and kills per set (3.66), and sophomore setter Megan Pederson leads the team in hitting percentage (0.270). Senior outside hitter Kayla Turner leads the team in aces (33).
Freshman setter Reagan Roth leads the team in assists (593), and Pederson leads the team in assists per set (6.29).
Newman has held opponents to a 0.188 hitting percentage. Senior libero Anna Burton leads the team in digs (607) and digs per set (5.52). Junior middle blocker Yemima Buana leads the team in solo blocks (30), and junior middle blocker Crystal Powell leads the team in block assists (67), total blocks (84) and blocks per set (0.83).
Southeastern Oklahoma State will be the seventh Great American Conference team UAFS has played in nonconference play, and the Lady Lions are 6-0 against Great American Conference opponents this season with wins against the league’s current No. 2 team (Harding), No. 3 team (Oklahoma Baptist), No. 6 team (Southern Nazarene), No. 9 team (Henderson State), No. 10 team (University of Arkansas-Monticello) and No. 11 team (East Central).
The Savage Storm (12-18, 7-8) is tied for seventh place in the Great American Conference with Southwestern Oklahoma State. Southeastern Oklahoma State was swept by Oklahoma Baptist on Tuesday to begin its three-match week that includes a match at East Central on Thursday and at UAFS on Friday.
