FORT SMITH, Ark. – University of Arkansas – Fort Smith Volleyball advanced to the Lone Star Conference Championship Tournament semifinals with a thrilling five-set win over UT Permian Basin Wednesday at the Stubblefield Center, winning 25-21, 19-25, 25-21, 17-25, 15-11.
Trailing 8-6 in the fifth set, UAFS scored seven unanswered points, including two aces by sophomore right-side hitter Courtney Crownover and two kills by freshman outside hitter Reagan Macha.
UTPB then scored three in a row to pull within 13-11, but Macha tallied another kill and a ball-handling error on the Falcons gave the Lady Lions the win.
Crownover notched her second triple-double of the season, racking up 10 kills, 23 assists and 19 digs.
UTPB tallied a 68-50 advantage in kills, but also had 34 attack errors, as UAFS held the Falcons to a .154 attack percentage. The UAFS defense totaled 10 blocks, led by five from freshman middle blocker Chyra Thompson.
On the back row, sophomore libero Lexy Lewis led the Lady Lions with 27 digs, as UAFS racked up a season-high 104 digs. Joining Lewis with double-figure digs were junior defensive specialist Jazzlyn Wells with 15, Macha with 11 and sophomore defensive specialist Molly Kingston with 16.
In set one, UAFS used multiple 4-0 runs to build an early lead. After UTPB pulled within one late, the Lady Lions were able to force three Falcon errors within the final four points to earn the set.
UAFS once again led early in set two, but the Falcons used a 7-0 run to take the lead and never look back to even the set.
The Lady Lions controlled set three, outhitting the Falcons .200 to .093. UAFS led by as many as nine before a late 5-0 run by the Falcons made things interesting. However, sophomore middle blocker Hannah Holland ended the run with a kill for the 2-1 lead.
UTPB led set four 19-17 before scoring the final six points of the set to force the decisive fifth set.
Macha matched Crownover's 10 kills, while Holland and junior middle blocker Jordan Babcock each had nine kills. Freshman outside hitter Savannah Wharton added eight kills.
The semifinals will be played at UT Tyler on March 30. UAFS will face the host Patriots that night at 7:30 p.m. following the first semifinal between Angelo State and Texas A&M-Kingsville.
