Newman at Dallas Baptist Thursday, September 12, 2013 Dallas, Texas - Burg Center - 7 p.m. Twitter | Facebook Newman at Arkansas-Fort Smith Saturday, September 14, 2013 Fort Smith, Ark. - Stubblefield Center - 2 p.m. Live Stats | Live Video

The Newman volleyball team starts its Heartland Conference schedule this weekend. The Lady Jets travel to Dallas Baptist on Thursday (Sept. 12) for a 7 p.m. match and Arkansas-Fort Smith on Saturday (Sept. 14) for a 12 p.m. match. UAFS won the conference last season, while DBU was second.
 
NU started its season 2-2 at the New Victorian Inn & Suites/Runza Volleyball Classic in Kearney, Neb. last weekend. The Lady Jets won a five-set match against South Dakota Mines, but also dropped two five-setters to Chadron State and Black Hills State. The Lady Jets did make quick work of William Jewell with a 3-0 win.
 
Freshman Alexis Roecker was named to the New Victorian Inn & Suites/Runza Volleyball All-Classic Team. She totaled an NU season-high 20 kills in the 3-2 win over S.D. Mines and hit .356, which is second-best this season for NU. She had team highs in kills in two of the four matches. For the weekend, Roecker led NU in kills (50), kills per set (2.78), blocks (11.0) and blocks per set (0.61). She hit .272 for the weekend.
 
Sophomore setter Alexus Litts was selected Heartland Conference Setter of the Week after the 2-2 weekend. She led the Lady Jets in assists in three of the four matches, including a season-high 46 assists in a 3-2 win over S.D. Mines. For the season, Litts has a team-high 119 assists and averages a team-high 6.61 assists per set. She totaled a team-high 11 service aces, including five in a 3-0 win over WJC. She also had four aces in the victory against South Dakota Mines. The sophomore from Cedar Rapids, Iowa finished with double digit digs in each of the four matches, including 21 digs against William Jewell.
 
DBU is 2-3, including a two-match winning streak. The Patriots defeated CSU-Pueblo, 3-2, and Texas A&M Commerce, 3-1, in their last two matches. DBU started the season with three losses in San Angelo, Texas against Angelo State (3-0), Colorado Mesa (3-1) and Tarleton State (3-0). A season ago, DBU finished second in the conference with an 11-3 record, and the Patriots are picked to finish second again this season.
 
UAFS, which won the conference a season ago, went 2-2 to start the season in San Angelo, Texas. The Lady Lions won against Tarleton State (3-0) and CSU-Pueblo (3-2), and lost to Colorado Mesa (3-0) and Angelo State (3-2). In 2012, UAFS won the conference with a 14-0 record, and the Lady Lions were picked to repeat in the preseason poll this season.
 
After this weekend, NU starts its home schedule with three-straight home matches. The Lady Jets take on UTPB in the home opener on Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. and also host Lubbock Christian and Barclay College during the home stretch.