After falling behind Western New Mexico 2-0 during Friday's opening match of the Desert Garden Inn by Wyndham Classic, UAFS appeared to find its rhythm in posting a third-set win.

The Lady Lions, however, couldn't build off that momentum.

Western New Mexico regrouped and won the fourth set to post its first-ever win against UAFS. The Mustangs won the match 25-20, 25-23, 17-25, 25-21 at Burns Arena in St. George, Utah.

It was the second meeting in the all-time series between the soon-to-be Lone Star Conference foes. UAFS, which will leave the Heartland Conference for the Lone Star Conference in July, beat current Lone Star member Western New Mexico in the first meeting in 2014.

Live statistics and live stream will be available at Tournament Central.

It was the first of four classic matches for UAFS. The Lady Lions (4-2) will play the Adams State Grizzlies (2-3) at 5:30 p.m. today and will play No. 18 Tarleton State at 3 p.m. and host Dixie State at 8 p.m. on Saturday.

Western New Mexico held the normally hot-hitting UAFS offense to a 0.173 hitting percentage with 48 kills on 156 attempts and forced 21 errors. Junior outside hitter Anna Demmer had 16 kills, sophomore outside hitter Rachel Williams had 11 and senior middle hitter Debra Rogers had 10.

Sophomore setter Laryssa Correa had 24 assists, while freshman setter Taylor Stoops had 12 assists. Sophomore right-side hitter Erin Black served two of the Lady Lions' three aces.

Western New Mexico (2-3) had eight total team blocks with junior middle hitter Deyzha Samuelu collecting one solo block and three block assists. The Mustangs collected 78 digs, and Gabi Lau had 22 digs to lead a trio of Mustangs with double-digit digs.

UAFS held Western New Mexico to a 0.157 hitting percentage with 55 kills on 172 attempts and forced 28 errors. Freshman outside hitter Selai Damuni had a team-high 18 kills, while freshman outside hitter Bria Augustine had 12 kills.

Freshman setter Madelyn Culp and junior setter Sophia Mitchell had 23 and 18 assists, respectively. The Mustangs also served five aces.

UAFS had nine total team blocks with Black collecting a team-high one solo block and four assists. The Lady Lions collected 74 digs. Demmer topped off her third double-double with 23 digs, while freshman libero Pilar Onstad had 13 digs.