FORT SMITH, Ark. - University of Arkansas - Fort Smith Volleyball heads to Tennessee for opening weekend as the Lions serve up the start of the 2025 season at the Union Volleyball Classic.
The Lions start things off bright and early on Friday at 9 a.m. against Lane College before wrapping up the first day at 7:30 p.m. against host Union University. Saturday sees the Lions play in-state foe Harding University at 11 a.m. before closing the weekend against an old Lone Star Conference opponent in Texas A&M-Kingsville at 5:30 p.m.
All four matches will be streamed on FloCollege, which can be accessed with a subscription. Live stats will be available at uafortsmithlions.com.
NOTES:
LAST SEASON: UAFS finished 2024 with a 14-14, 6-10 MIAA in its first year in the MIAA.
SEASON OPENER: The Lions are 11-5 in season openers in the NCAA II era.
KEY RETURNERS: UAFS returns just six players overall from the 2024 squad, with setters Scarlette Young and Trinity Funderburk back along with right-side hitter Morgan Creer. Creer was an All-MIAA Honorable Mention selection while Young led the Lions with 5.6 assists per set.
NEW FACES: The Lions have 11 newcomers for 2025, including eight freshmen.
RECORD WATCH: Young tallied 36 aces last season, the ninth most in a single season.
SCOUTING LC: Lane finished the 2024 season at 11-18 overall and return their top two attackers, setter and libero from a year ago.
SCOUTING UU: The Bulldogs produced a 10-20 record in 2024 and lost four of its top five hitters from last year. Setter Ashley Pruitt returns after averaging 7.41 assists per set last season.
SCOUTING HU: The Bisons went 22-9 and reached the GAC championship game in 2024. They depart their top three hitters from a year ago as well as their libero. All-GAC setter Olivia Wiedower returns to lead the Harding offense.
SCOUTING TAMUK: The Javelinas posted a 15-12 record in 2024 and return setter Elisa Carli and right-side hitter Rylan Pollard to lead the offense.
THE SERIES: UAFS will be playing Lane and Union for the first time this weekend, while the Lions are 6-2 against Harding and 7-2 against Texas A&M-Kingsville. It will be the first meeting against Harding since 2017.
HEAD COACH: Jane Sargent enters her 28th year at the helm of the Lions with a career record of 763-214.
