BETHANY, Okla. – University of Arkansas – Fort Smith Volleyball overcame a slow start Thursday to defeat Southern Nazarene in four sets, 20-25, 25-13, 25-14, 25-9, in its opening match of the MIAA/GAC Crossover.

The Crimson Storm shocked the Lions in the opening set, hitting .368 before the Lions dominated the next three sets to roar to victory. UAFS finished the match hitting .325 while the Storm hit .121.

The UAFS defense had quite the turnaround, holding SNU to -.027 in the second set. UAFS had at least three runs of 4-0 and opened the set with a 7-2 spurt.  

Set three saw the Lions hit .591, tallying 14 kills on 22 attempts with just on error. The Lions broke open a 13-12 set with a 6-0 run, led by a pair of kills each from outside hitter Nyia Anderson and middle blocker Kaelyn McDonald. Anderson led the Lions with 14 kills while McDonald hit .471 and totaled nine kills.

McDonald recorded two of her kills during a final 6-1 run to put the third set away and give the Lions the 2-1 advantage.

The defense was strong once again in set four, as the Lions held the Storm to -.111 hitting. UAFS opened the set with a 6-1 run, and later had a 6-0 run to make it 13-3. The Lions would close out the match with a 7-0 run featuring two kills by Anderson and a pair of aces from setter Brelee Mauldin.

Anderson added nine digs to her stat line, while fellow outside hitter Caelyn Gunn recorded a double-double with 11 kills and a team-high 18 digs. Gunn hit .320 for the match.

Right-side hitter Morgan Creer tallied 12 kills on a .346 attack percentage while collecting three more blocks. Mauldin led the Lions with 22 assists while Scarlette Young dished out 19 and had 11 digs. Both Mauldin and Anderson had four aces each, as the Lions had a 10-1 advantage from the service line.

Friday sees the Lions face East Central at 1:30 p.m. and Southeastern Oklahoma State at 6:30 p.m. on the University of Central Oklahoma campus.