MONTGOMERY, Ala. – University of Arkansas – Fort Smith Volleyball picked up its 10th straight win Saturday as the Lions swept Albany State and Auburn-Montgomery to wrap up the Warhawk Invitational.
Lydia Pitts was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.
Next up for the Lions is their home and conference opener Friday at 6 p.m. against Central Missouri at the Stubblefield Center.
UAFS 3, Albany State 0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-12)
Pitts tied her career high with 21 kills and hit .513 as the Lions hit .436 for the match. Emily Parker added 10 kills on a .533 attack percentage while Grace Marshall and Aspen Olson hit .462 and .429, respectively.
The Lions hit over .400 in all three sets, starting the match by breaking a 14-14 tie in the opening set with a 7-1 run with three kills each from Parker and Pitts. After the Rams scored three straight points, the Lions answered with their own 3-0 run before closing out the set.
UAFS trailed 19-15 in set two before a 5-1 burst tied the set at 20. Pitts had another three kills during the run. Tied at 23, the Lions took the lead on an ASU service error before Parker won the set with a kill.
The Lions never trailed in set three as they jumped out to an 11-3 lead and led by as many as 15 at 21-16.
Mayli Whetter tallied 33 assists in the win while Abbey Jackson led the Lions with 15 digs. Marshall added 12 digs and Olson recorded five blocks.
UAFS 3, AUM 0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-19)
The Lions kept the offensive momentum rolling by hitting .308 in their third sweep of the weekend. Defensively, the Lions held the Warhawks to .042 for the match.
UAFS led 21-8 in the opening set and then used a 7-0 run early in set two as the Lions pulled away for the 2-0 lead. A 6-0 run in set three gave the Lions a 12-6 advantage as they rolled to the win.
Pitts tallied 11 more kills in the win while Olson had nine with a .500 attack percentage. Both Marshall and Parker scored seven kills, with Parker hitting .778. Whetter had 33 assists once again with Jackson totaling 14 digs.
The Lions had 10 aces in the match, with four from Lexi Wieser and three each from Pitts and Whetter.
