PITTSBURG, Kan. – University of Arkansas – Fort Smith Volleyball split the first day of the Gorilla Classic Friday, falling 3-0 to No. 11 Southwest Minnesota State before bouncing back with a 3-1 win over Drury.
The Lions wrap up the two-day event Saturday at 11:30 a.m. against Northwestern Oklahoma State followed by a 7 p.m. contest against Pittsburg State.
SMSU 3, UAFS 0 (25-23, 25-13, 25-17)
Set one saw the Lions hold an 18-13 lead over the Mustangs after a 10-1 run but SMSU later responded with an 8-2 run of its own to steal the opening set. SMSU then held UAFS to .051 and .054 attack percentages in sets two and three for the sweep.
Setter Chloe Price had 25 assists for the Lions while outside hitter Caelyn Gunn had a team-high nine kills.
Three registered double-digit digs, with Price and Gunn each recording 10 for double-doubles and libero Paola Fragalle tallying a team-high 24.
Middle blocker Hannah Watkins had six blocks in the loss as the Lions had a 9-5 advantage in blocks. However, the Mustangs had a 10-2 edge in aces.
UAFS 3, Drury 1 (25-21, 25-20, 22-25, 25-10)
The Lions hit .467 to dominate the fourth set and put away the Panthers to get back in the win column. They started the set on a 10-2 run and later stretched the lead to 11 with a 6-0 spurt.
UAFS was strong defensively in the first two sets to take a 2-0 lead, limiting the Panthers to .091 and .020 attack percentages.
Price moved into second all-time on the career assists list by dishing out 39 assists while also hitting .308 with six kills. She recorded a double-double with 14 digs.
Fragalle led five to record 10 or more digs with 20, while Gunn matched Price's 14 digs to go with a team-high 14 kills. Defensive specialists Lauren Weber and Taylor Lintz each tallied 11 digs.
The Lions were tied at 21-21 in set three with a chance at a sweep but the Panthers scored four of the final five points to extend the match.
Balance once again was a factor for the Lion offense, as right-side hitter Reagan Macha tallied 11 kills and both outside hitter Nyia Anderson and Watkins had eight kills. Middle blocker Angelina added seven kills.
