UAFS volleyball, tennis teams on winning path
by October 21, 2009 11:43 am 76 views
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 closed out its home schedule in convincing fashion on Tuesday night with a sweep of the Oklahoma City Stars at Stubblefield Center.
UAFS (25-3) won the match 25-21, 25-17, 25-22 to post its third win against Oklahoma City (14-16) this season. The Lady Lions beat the Stars 3-0 during a tri-match at Cameron University on Sept. 19 and beat them 3-1 at Abe Lemons Arena in Oklahoma City on Sept. 24.
The Lady Lions extended their winning streak to 13 consecutive matches and have not lost since falling to Southeastern Oklahoma State University 3-1 on Sept. 21 in Durant, Okla.
Junior Fabiane Nass of Santa Catarina, Brazil, continued her recent hot hitting performance with a team-high 11 kills for UAFS, while sophomore Heidi Luks of Tallinn, Estonia, had a team-best 16 digs to lead a trio of Lady Lions with double-digit digs.
Junior Lucia Najselova of Nitra, Slovakia, led UAFS with 36 assists, and sophomore Jettie Stec of Fort Smith had three blocks and one assist.
UAFS was scheduled to play the University of Arkansas at Monticello at 8 p.m. on Friday night at Monticello, but that match was canceled by UAM. The Lady Lions will return to action on Saturday during a tri-match at Harding University in Searcy, Ark. They will play host Harding at 1 p.m. and Missouri S&T at 3:30 p.m.
LADY LIONS TENNIS
The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith women’s tennis team continued its successful fall season on Tuesday afternoon with a convincing 8-1 win against NCAA Division I University of Central Arkansas.
It was the Lady Lions’ second win against a NCAA Division I opponent in the history of the program. UAFS beat the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff last season.
UAFS, which is a provisional member of NCAA Division II this season, swept all three doubles matches.
The No. 1 doubles tandem of freshmen Cara Gilham of Hants, United Kingdom, and Abby Whittemore of McAllen, Texas, led the way with an 8-5 win against Petra Keilova and Katie Anderson.
The Lady Lions won five of the six singles matches with Gilham beating Keilova 6-2, 6-1 in the No. 1 singles match. The Sugar Bears’ only win was at No. 6 singles where Jordan Short beat Charlotte Delvaux of Flower Mound, Texas, 6-1, 6-2.
UAFS will close its fall season on Friday and Saturday when the Lions and Lady Lions compete in the Tyler Junior College Fall Classic in Tyler, Texas.