In only only its fourth season as an active NCAA Division II member, the UA-Fort Smith volleyball team is heading to the Final Four.
The Lady Lions continued their run through the NCAA Division II National Tournament on Thursday, rallying from a first-set loss to beat New Haven in four sets at Knights Hall in Louisville, Ky.
UAFS won the match 31-33, 25-17, 25-10, 25-23 to advance to Friday’s Final Four. They will play Tampa at 4:30 p.m. It will be the first-ever Final Four appearance for the Lady Lions (29-4).
Grand Valley State will play Southwest Minnesota State at 2 p.m. in the other Final Four match. The championship match will be at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
The Lady Lions won their first national tournament match in three tries by upsetting No. 2 seed and No. 8 nationally-ranked Colorado School of Mines in the first round of South Central Region play. They advanced to their first ever region title match by beating No. 6 seed Tarleton State and won their first ever region title by upsetting No. 1 seed and No. 7 nationally-ranked University of Colorado-Mesa in four sets on its home court.
UAFS, which was the only representative from the Heartland Conference to earn a bid to the national tournament, was one of only two No. 7 seeds to advance to the Elite Eight.
The Lady Lions also are the first UAFS team to not only win a region championship at the Division II level but also advance to the Elite Eight.
