UAFS Lady Lions ready for conference encounters and ‘Dig Pink’

Editor’s note: Story by Jonathan Gipson, sports information director for the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.

The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith volleyball team is 20 matches into its debut season of NCAA Division II competition, and coach Jane Sargent has already discovered many differences from the Lady Lions’ junior college days.

One glaring difference is defense.

“It’s definitely been a challenge,” Sargent said. “It is so much more defense-oriented than what we were used to at the junior college level. We are used to going up, getting a block and having the ball go down. That’s just not the case anymore. That, and we’ve had many long rallies. We have definitely had to step our defense up.”

And gone are the days of the quick and easy three-set sweeps. UAFS has played only nine three-set matches but have won all of them. The Lady Lions are 6-2 in four-set matches and 2-1 in five-set matches.

“You have to be up every night because there are no easy teams,” said Sargent, whose Lady Lions are coming off a grueling five-set win against East Central University on Tuesday night in Ada, Okla. “Everybody has just been really solid. We really haven’t had any blowouts.”

Still, the Lady Lions have been successful. UAFS is 17-3 overall and has won five matches in a row. The Lady Lions have swept the regular-season series against East Central, Southwestern Oklahoma State, Missouri Southern and Cameron University.
The Lady Lions’ losses have been against Drury University, Truman State and Southeastern Oklahoma State.

“We really don’t have too much to complain about,” Sargent said. “We have been in every match we have played, and I guess that’s all you can ask.”

Sophomore Heidi Luks of Tallinn, Estonia, leads the Lady Lions with 185 kills and 80 blocks and is second with 212 digs. Junior Fabiane Nass of Santa Catarina, Brazil, is second with 181 kills and 62 blocks. Sophomore Jettie Stec of Fort Smith is third with 126 kills and 48 blocks.

Junior Lucia Najselova of Nitra, Slovakia, leads the team with 678 assists, and sophomore Keely Rivera of Baytown, Texas, leads the team with 247 digs.

“Jettie has been steady all year. Heidi has been in a little bit of a slump, but she’s starting to come out of that,” Sargent said. “Lucia has been really steady.”

UAFS is a provisional member of NCAA Division II this season and is ineligible to compete for regular-season championships or postseason play. The Lady Lions, however, will play each of their Heartland Conference opponents one time this season, but the results will not factor into the conference standings.

The Lady Lions will play their first conference opponents on Saturday (Oct. 10) during a tri-match hosted by Newman University in Wichita, Kan. UAFS will play the University of Texas – Permian Basin at 2 p.m. and Newman at 4 p.m.

Newman (4-15) is sixth in the conference with a 1-3 record going into Thursday night’s league match against Dallas Baptist. The Lady Jets, who have lost six matches in a row, have lost to conference foes St. Mary’s, Incarnate Word and St. Edward’s and have beaten Texas A&M International.

UT Permian Basin (9-13) is tied for second in the conference with a 3-1 record going into Thursday’s league matches. The Lady Falcons have lost to St. Edward’s and have beaten Texas A&M International, Incarnate Word and St. Mary’s.

“Right off the bat we are facing two of the teams who are in the middle of the pack,” Sargent said. “That will get our feet wet a little bit. … All of this is a learning experience for us.”

UAFS will return to the Stubblefield Center on Monday and Tuesday for two of its final three home matches of the season. The Lady Lions will host Southeastern Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. on Monday (Oct. 12)  in what will be “Dig Pink” Night. “Dig Pink” is a national promotion that brings awareness to breast cancer and breast cancer research.

UAFS will try to stuff the Stubblefield Center with pink. All breast cancer survivors will be admitted free as will anyone wearing a 2009 “Dig Pink” T-shirt. T-shirts are on sale for $10 at the UAFS campus bookstore, the UAFS athletic department office and Cooper Clinic’s main building in Fort Smith.

The Lady Lions will then host Southern Arkansas University at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. UA Fort Smith’s last home match will be at 7 p.m. on Oct. 20 against Oklahoma City University.