WICHITA – The Newman volleyball team lost in a battle of the top two teams in the Heartland Conference on Thursday (Oct. 15) at Fugate Gymnasium. NU lost, 3-1, to defending Heartland Conference champion UA Fort Smith. With the loss, the Jets dropped to 17-6 and 7-2 in the Heartland Conference. The Lions gained a two-match edge in the league standings, going to 9-0 and 15-3 overall.
 
The Lions used strong hitting throughout the match, finishing hitting .331 with 66 kills and only 15 errors. NU ended with a .206 hitting percentage and 55 kills to 21 errors.
 
In the first set, the Jets gained an early 2-0 on kills from Emily Harvey and Ashley Gonzalez, however, miscues allowed the Lions to gain control of the set. UAFS scored their first seven points on NU errors. The Jets totaled five service errors in the set. With the Lions up only one at 17-16, UAFS tallied four straight points to pull out to a 21-16 advantage. The Lions went on to win the set, 25-18.
 
The Jets built a 13-7 lead in the second set. With NU in control up 21-15, UAFS totaled five straight points to pull to within one at 22-21. A Gonzalez kill gave NU set point at 24-22. However, the Lions got two points to knot the score at 24-24. From there the two teams traded points to 28-28. A rare kill from libero Anna Burton again gave NU set point, and a block assist by Gonzalez and setter Alexus Litts lifted the Jets to a 30-28 win in set two to tie the match at 1-1.
 
For the only time in the match, NU outhit UAFS in the second set. The Jets finished at .208 with 16 kills and six errors. The Lions had a .132 hitting percentage with 16 kills and nine errors.
 
After a break for intermission, UAFS responded with its best hitting performance of the match, totaling 18 kills with two errors on 31 attempts for a .516 hitting percentage. The Lions went on to win set three, 25-18.
 
The Lions continued their hot hitting in the fourth set. They finished with 19 kills and only two errors on 39 attempts for a .436 hitting percentage. After falling behind 5-1, NU battled back to tie the score at 7-7. The Jets gained a 10-8 advantage after a block by Yemima Buana and Kayla Turner. NU still lead by two at 13-11, however, the Lions made a 6-1 run to take a 17-14 edge in the set. The Jets closed to within one point three times, but couldn't regain the lead. After two kills cut the deficit to 23-22, UAFS got back-to-back kills from Kenndi Coleman to clinch the match with a 25-22 win.
 
Gonzalez led the Jets with 15 kills and a .268 hitting percentage. She added four digs and two blocks. Harvey totaled 14 kills and hit .200. Turner also hit double digits in kills with 11 and a .175 hitting percentage. Litts tallied a team-high 46 assists on 55 NU kills. Burton finished with a team-best 27 digs.
 
UAFS's Payton Hamilton and Kennedi Coleman each totaled a match-high 19 kills. Hamilton hit a match-best .600 with only one error on 30 attempts. Whitney Mills finished with a double-double of 54 assists and 13 digs. Libero Emily Tripp ended with 33 digs, a match high.
 
The Jets look to get back on track next Thursday (Oct. 22) against Texas-Permian Basin at 7 p.m. at Fugate Gymnasium. Live stats and video will be available for the contest.