NEWBERRY, S.C. - University of Arkansas - Fort Smith Volleyball opened the 2023 campaign with a pair of wins Friday at the Newberry Invitational, defeating Lander University, 3-2, before sweeping Belmont Abbey College to end the day.

The Lions are back in action Saturday for two more matches, facing host Newberry at 11 a.m. and Francis Marion at 2:30 p.m.

UAFS 3, Lander 2

UAFS held on to a 2-0 lead to defeat the Bearcats, 3-2, in the opener of the tournament. Setter Chloe Price paced the Lions, posting a double-double of 31 assists and 18 digs while adding seven kills.

The Lions trailed to begin each set but used big runs to come back to take the lead. In set one, UAFS trailed 7-1 before using an 8-0 rally to turn a 12-9 deficit into a 17-12 advantage. Set two saw the Lions down 9-3 before a 7-1 run tied the set and another 8-0 run gave them an 18-13 lead.

UAFS had set point at 24-20 in set two, but the Bearcats evened the set at 24 before kills by outside hitters Nyia Anderson and Caelyn Gunn gave the Lions a 2-0 edge.

Lander broke through to win set three and then hit .353 in set four to force a fifth set. The Bearcats looked to have the momentum, racing out to a 4-1 lead in the fifth. However, the Lions showed the same grit they did early in the match by scoring the next three points.

Facing a 7-7 tie, the Lions closed the match on an 8-2 run and getting three kills from Gunn.

Gunn tallied a team-high 16 kills as the Lions spread the wealth, with five players totaling seven or more kills. Anderson and middle blocker Hannah Watkins each had nine kills while outside hitter Reagan Macha added eight.

Defensively, the Lions held Lander All-American outside hitter Katie Miller to just a .071 attack percentage with five players recording double-digit digs. In addition to Price, Paola Fragalle added 16 digs, Lauren Weber tallied 10 and Taylor Lintz and Gunn each had 10.

Watkins totaled six blocks at the net.

UAFS 3, Belmont Abbey 0

The Lions made quick work of the Crusaders in the nightcap, sweeping Belmont Abbey 25-11, 25-15, 25-15.

UAFS was strong defensively, holding BAC to a .030 hitting percentage for the match, including -.026 in set two. The Lions tallied nine blocks with Watkins involved in seven of them. Fragalle led the back row with 11 digs.

Macha hit .444 with nine kills to lead the Lions offensively, while Anderson hit .462 with seven kills and Watkins .364 with six kills. Price dished out 26 assists. Price moved up to fourth on the all-time assists list with 1,330, surpassing assistant coach Susannah Kelley and just eight behind Whitney Mills for third.

UAFS had a 12-1 advantage in aces, with four coming from defensive specialist Taylor Lintz and three from Price.

The Lions once again used big runs, including an 8-0 run in the first which turned into 19-3, a 7-0 run in the second and a 9-1 run in the third.