By Bronte Hermesmeyer for TWU Athletics Communications

DENTON, Texas (Nov. 16, 2019) – Despite a gritty effort on Senior Day, Texas Woman's fell to Arkansas-Fort Smith 16-25, 25-22, 19-25, 25-27.

UAFS has now won 11 games in a row and clinched a share of the Lone Star Conference title with the win. The Lions out-dug TWU by 12 and collected 10 aces on the afternoon.

"They [UAFS] play a different defense than the majority of the Lone Star," head coach Jeff Huebner said. "We found success when we executed the game plan. Them out-digging us by 12 just means they had too many balls when they're on offense."

TWU freshman Addison Mulroney put together an impressive performance with 12 kills while tying her a season high with three blocks. Senior Courtney Noel added 10 kills, while sophomore Trixie Oche recorded seven blocks.

Junior Tabitha Spray led the Pioneers with 19 digs, and senior Katy Ranes finished with 28 assists in what was possibly her last home game at Kitty Magee Arena.

The first set saw the Lady Lions quickly build a 10-point lead at 12-2 before a TWU timeout.  The Pioneers pulled to within four at 18-14 but UAFS finished on a 7-2 run to take the set 25-16. 

"We needed to do a better job of contact-by-contact," Huebner said. "We're better when we pass the ball on target, and we didn't do that in the first set. We just had too many errors and not enough aces. We kept them out of system enough, but we didn't capitalize in the areas that we need to."

TWU responded with an aggressive attack in the second set. After seven ties, a Lady Lion service error followed by blocks from Oche and Spray gave the Pioneers set point.  Spray finished the Pioneers' 3-0 run with a kill to win the set 25-22 and tie the match. TWU's hitting percentage improved to .240 in the second set after hitting .077 in the opening frame.

UAFS rebounded to win the third set before embarking on a 7-0 run in the fourth set to take a 17-9 lead. Just when it looked as if the match was going to end, the Pioneers responded with a fight. TWU went on an 8-1 run, capped off by a block from Oche, and survived four match points to tie the set up at 24-24.

However, the Lady Lions would end up getting a kill before blocking a Pioneer attempt to give them a narrow 27-25 win to close out the contest.

Huebner said this group of TWU seniors are special to him. Huebner inherited this class three years ago in the spring of 2017. Although he didn't recruit them, these seniors have set the foundation for Pioneer volleyball for years to come.

"We didn't recruit these kids, so we didn't know much about them when we arrived," Huebner said. "They've invested in us and built a foundation that bases itself on family. The way that our kids treat one another is pretty special, and that has nothing to do with me. I'm forever thankful and grateful to have the opportunity to coach these kids. They've invested more into this program than they ever needed to."

The Pioneers will learn their seed for the LSC Championship Tournament on Sunday when the league announces the bracket. First-round games will be held on the campus of the higher seeds on Tuesday.

Seeding will be determined via Rating Percentage Index (RPI). TWU is on the bubble line for the opportunity to host a first round match, which would be the first time in program history.