WICHITA – For the first time since 2010, the Newman volleyball team is heading to the Heartland Conference Tournament. The Lady Jets punched their ticket with a 3-0 (25-12, 25-17, 25-19) victory at Oklahoma Panhandle State on Tuesday (Nov. 4) at Oscar Williams Field House. NU ends its conference schedule with a 9-7 record and will be either the No. 3 or No. 4 seed in the conference tournament. In a non-conference match, NU defeated Northwestern Oklahoma State, 3-1 (25-17, 25-19, 16-25, 25-21), after the win over OPSU. The Lady Jets moved to 15-12 overall.
 
The Lady Jets cruised in the first set, winning 25-12. NU hit just .200 with nine kills, but OPSU committed nine errors and totaled a -.031 hitting percentage.
 
In the second set, it was still all NU as they won 25-17. The Lady Jets increased their winning percentage to .233 and tallied 13 kills. However, NU totaled a set-high six errors. The Aggies again struggled with errors, finishing with nine errors on 27 swings for a -.148 hitting percentage.
 
The Lady Jets clinched the match and a spot in the conference tournament with a 25-19 win in the third set. NU ended with its best hitting percentage at .303 with 13 kills and only three errors on 33 attempts. OPSU also played better in the final set, hitting 0.98 with 10 kills and six errors on 41 swings.
 
For the match, NU hit .247 with 35 kills on 93 attempts. The Lady Jets added six service aces and three blocks.
 
OPSU finished hitting -.010 with 23 kills and 24 errors on 100 attempts.
 
Sophomore Jarin Braithwait, who was the Heartland Conference Freshman of the Year a season ago, totaled a match-high 12 kills and hit a match-high .500 percent. She only had two errors on 20 attempts. Ashley Gonzalez finished with nine kills and also hit .500. Setter Alexus Litts had a match-high 24 assists, and Kayla Turner added five assists. Anna Burton led the match with 17 digs. Gaylynn Jones almost totaled a double-double, finishing with 10 digs and eight kills. A total of 14 Lady Jets played in the dominating win.
 
The Aggies were led by Shaina Eddings with eight kills. Megan Archuleta finished with a team-high 15 digs.
 
The Lady Jets advance to the Heartland Conference Tournament for the first time since 2010. UAFS has clinched the regular season championship and will host the conference tournament. St. Edward's is the No. 2 seed, and NU will be either the No. 3 or 4 seed. St. Mary's and Dallas Baptist still have two conference matches to go to determine the final spot and seeding.
 
In the second match, NU pulled to a 2-0 lead. The Lady Jets won sets one and two by the scores of 25-17 and 25-19. After dropping set three, 25-16, NU won 25-21 in the fourth set to win the match, 3-1.
 
The Lady Jets started strong, hitting .333 in the first set with 12 kills and only one error on total attempts. NU was even better in the second set at a .382 hitting percentage with 16 kills. After hitting negative in the third set, the Lady Jets hit .103 in the fourth, winning 25-21. For the match, NU hit .194 with 47 kills and 20 errors.
 
The Rangers finished hitting .119. Asia Pipkins had a match-high 16 kills. Suka Tafao finished with a match-high 29 assists.
 
Gonzalez and Shelby Zoglman each had a team-high 10 kills. Zoglman hit .261. Braithwait once again had a match-high hitting percentage at .500. She totaled eight kills. Litts tallied a double-double of 24 assists and 13 digs. Burton had a match-high 29 digs.
 
NU ends the regular season on Thursday (Nov. 6) at Baker College at 7 p.m. in Baldwin City, Kan.