Heartland Volleyball Tournament Central
LUBBOCK, Texas – UAFS rallied from a first-set loss to claim its fourth championship in five seasons with a 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 25-14, 25-17) win over St. Edward’s in the Heartland Volleyball Tournament Championship.
The Lady Lions got a monster game from junior outside hitter Anna Demmer who had 23 kills on .290 hitting for UAFS. Demmer also picked up a double-double on her way to Tournament MVP honors with 22 digs and added a pair of aces. Fellow All-Tournament Team member Rachel Williams had another big match for UAFS landing 20 kills of her own on .327 hitting. Freshman Taylor Stoops handed out 46 assists for the match.
UAFS hit .251 as a team after being held to just .145 in the first set by the Hilltoppers who entered the weekend as the top defensive unit in the conference.
Junior outside hitter Alexa McAndrew led the offensive attack for the Hilltoppers who became the first fourth seed to advance to the championship match since 2010 which was also the last year both the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds faced off in the tournament’s penultimate match. McAndrew had 18 kills for SEU on .236 hitting and registered a double-double with 15 digs. Senior Kate Hendrix also had double-digit kills with 12 and added six digs and four blocks. Both were named to the All-Tournament Team.
With the win, UAFS earned the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Tournament next weekend. The Lady Lions will find out Sunday, Nov. 11 who they will face and where they are headed on the NCAA Selection Show at 9 p.m. Central.
2018 Heartland Volleyball All-Tournament Team
MVP - OH Anna Demmer, UAFS
OH Rachel Williams, UAFS
S Taylor Stoops, UAFS
OH Alexa McAndrew, St. Edward's
OH Kate Hendrix, St. Edward's
L Kelsie French, Lubbock Christian
OH Alissa Tolbert, St. Mary's