EDMOND, Okla. - University of Arkansas - Fort Smith Volleyball had no trouble picking up two more wins Friday, defeating East Central, 3-1, and Southeastern Oklahoma State, 3-0, on day two of the MIAA/GAC Crossover.
The Lions will close out the event Saturday at 1:30 p.m. against Oklahoma Baptist.
UAFS 3, East Central 1
After allowing the first point to open the match, the Lions scored five straight and never looked back in the opening set. A pair of 3-0 runs opened the lead up to 15-7, with the Lions closing out the set on an 8-2 run while hitting .293.
UAFS trailed 6-4 in set two before two kills from outside hitter Caelyn Gunn and two aces from outside hitter Nyia Anderson fueled a 6-0 run to put the Lions up, 10-6. That was part of a larger, 10-1 run, with UAFS then closing it our again with a 7-2 scoring stretch.
The Lions used a 4-0 to take a 20-17 lead in set three, but the Tigers rattled off three straight to tie it up and scored seven of the last nine points to force a fourth set. Despite the set loss, UAFS hit .364 in the set.
UAFS buckled down on defense in the fourth, holding the Tigers to a .051 attack percentage. Tied 11-11, setter Brelee Mauldin recorded three aces as the Lions went on a 6-0 run to break the set open. A 3-0 run made the score 20-12 in favor of the Lions, and the teams traded points as the Lions pulled out the win.
The duo of Gunn and Anderson tallied 15 and 14 kills respectively, while Anderson paced the Lions defensively with 24 digs. Setter Scarlette Young was active offensively, tallying 18 assists while also hitting .381, recording nine kills.
Mauldin led the Lions with 21 assists, while libero Brooke Rifkin racked up 17 digs.
UAFS had a 10-3 advantage in aces and 9-2 in blocks. Middle blocker Hannah Watkins had a match-high seven blocks.
UAFS 3, Southeastern Oklahoma 0
The Lions hit .323 as they made quick work of Southeastern Oklahoma in a sweep. UAFS hit .378 in set one and .348 in set three.
UAFS raced out to a 7-2 lead in the opening set, taking advantage of multiple Savage Storm errors. After SE pulled within 17-14, Gunn collected a pair of kills as the Lions extended the lead back to seven. SE made one final push to get the deficit to three once again before the Lions closed out the set.
The Lions started set two the exact same way as set one, with Gunn and Anderson accounting for the first six UAFS points. Southeastern once again battled back, but Anderson ignited a 4-0 run with two kills to give the Lions some breathing room before leading by as many as nine.
UAFS broke a 5-5 tie in set three with a 4-0 run on a pair of kills by Young and maintained that lead throughout the set as it finished off the sweep.
Gunn and Anderson each tallied 13 kills to lead the Lions while Watkins and middle blocker Kaelyn McDonald combined for 13 kills and a .462 attack percentage. Mauldin and Young tallied 18 and 17 assists, respectively, and each recorded a double-double along with Anderson, who had a team-high 18 digs. Rifkin added 10 digs, as well.
