FORT SMITH, Ark. – The Newman volleyball team took on No. 1 seeded Arkansas-Fort Smith in the first-semifinal match of the conference tournament, falling 3-0 (25-12, 25-16, 25-23) Friday evening inside the Stubblefield Center.
 
KEY SEQUENCE
 
The Jets (20-11) were competitive early on in all the sets against the Lions (23-5) but UAFS would take advantage of key runs throughout the match and go on to win all three sets.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Set 1
 
-Newman would jump out to an early 3-2 lead in Set 2 with an Aliya Higginbotham kill and back-to-back kills from Kayla Turner.
 
-A kill from Emily Harvey would cut into the UAFS lead and make the score 14-8 about halfway through Set 1.
 
-Hailey Braddy would deliver a kill for the Jets to make the score 21-12 late in the set but the Lions would score the next four points to win Set 1 25-12.
 
Set 2
 
-Higginbotham would score the first Newman point of Set 2 with a kill to make it 1-1 early on.  
 
-The Jets would go on a four-point run to inch closer to the Lion lead to make the score 14-11. During the run Harvey tallied three kills, while Yemiam Buana added one.
 
-Newman would get within two points to the UAFS lead when the Jets had back-to-back kills from Turner and Alexis Roecker to make the score 17-15.
 
-A Braddy kill would put the score at 22-16 late in Set 2 but the Lions would grab the set 25-16.
 
Set 3
 
-Newman would get out to an early 4-2 lead in Set 3 but UAFS would comeback and take a 6-5 lead.
 
-Three-straight Lion errors would give the Jets the lead back at 8-6. A kill from Higginbotham and another UAFS error would put the Jets back in front at 11-10.
 
-The Lions would go on a run to regain the lead but with back-to-back kills from Jarin Braithwait and Higginbotham Newman would close within two points to make the score 20-18 late in Set 3.
 
-Harvey provided two kills late in the set to tie the score up at 22-22 and 23-23 but UAFS would capture the third and final set 25-23 over Newman.
 
LEADERS
 
Newman
Kills: Harvey, 10. Assists: Brook Conley, 27. Blocks: Braithwait, 2. Digs: Anna Burton, 35.
 
UAFS
Kills: Kennedi Coleman, 10. Assists: Erin Black, 27. Aces: Bailey Katzfey, 2. Blocks: Maddie Gilliam, 3. Digs: Emily Tripp, 30.
 
NOTES
 
-In the 31 matches the Jets played this season, Harvey finished with 21 matches where she had double-digit kills, including this evening's match where she tied for a match-high 10 kills.
 
-For the fourth-straight season the Newman women's volleyball team finished with a winning record and also for the first time in our Division II era recording back-to-back seasons with at least 20 victories.