CANYON, TX-The No. 5 nationally ranked Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M (18-2, 7-1 LSC) will host the first-seed University of Arkansas Fort Smith Lions (16-3, 6-0 LSC) this Friday, Oct. 20 at 6:00 p.m. in The Box. Following up, the Lady Buffs will take on the Oklahoma Christian Eagles (11-8, 3-3 LSC) on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 2:00 p.m.

GAME DAY PROMOTION

There will be a free tailgate opportunity this Friday outside The Box from 4-5:30 pm. Then the Lady Buffs are hosting a post-game clinic on Saturday, Oct. 21 in The Box directly after the match against Oklahoma Christian ends. The free clinic will be available to participants in 6^th grade and below and will last for 20 minutes. 

LIVE COVERAGE

A paid-for live stream and free stats will be provided by the WT Athletic Communications department. All LSC matches will be aired on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network. 

Fans can purchase a daily pass for $15, a monthly game pass for $30 or a yearly pass for $140. Any pass purchased will give fans the opportunity to watch any LSC game across any sport including volleyball matches. Fans can purchase their pass at lonestarconferencenetwork.com.

IN THE POLLS

The #5 Lady Buffs are the only LSC program represented in the national standings and have been in the top five in the nation for the past seven weeks. Angelo State is the only other LSC team receiving votes while three RMAC teams are ranked with MSU Denver (6th), Colorado Mesa (9th) and Regis (12th). Wayne State holds down the #1 spot in the nation followed by Concordia St. Paul, Tampa and Missouri-St. Louis. West Texas A&M only has two losses on the season with one of those coming from a five setter by national runner-up and #2 in the nation Concordia St. Paul. 

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION

ARKANSAS-FORT SMITH (Oct. 20 | 6 PM) 

The Lions are led by 15th year head coach Jane Sargent. The Lions are having one of their best starts to a season since 2019 with 16 wins, a tie with the amount that they amassed last season.

Sophomore outside hitter Caelyn Gunn is leading the Lions offense with 232 kills, while redshirt junior outside hitter, Nyia Anderson, follows closely behind with 203 kills. Assists leader, Chloe Price is running a 5-1 offense for the lions and LSC defensive player of the week Hannah Watkins is holding down the net with 83 blocks this season. 

The Lions are on an eight match winning streak having defeated LSC foes TAMU-Kingsville and TAMU-International. 

OKLAHOMA CHRISTIAN (Oct. 21 | 2 PM) 

The Eagles are led by third year head coach Jason Scoach. The Eagles are in the middle of the conference pack at 10th overall with a 3-3 LSC record. 

Sophomore Annie Davis is leading the Eagles in kills (174), with Lauren McClure setting 453 assists, and libero Brylie Berrman having 220 digs. The Eagles are leading the LSC in blocks per set 2.39 with sophomore Camryn McGough holding down the front line with 85 total blocks. 

LAST TIME OUT

The Lady Buffs are coming off a five-set thrilling win against the Southwestern Oklahoma Bulldogs. Emma Becker led the WT offense with 23 kills on 50 attempts, a career high attempts for the sophomore opposite. Ainsley Malis had a season high 34 assists and made it a double-double with 17 digs.  The Lady Buffs pulled out the 15-12 win in the fifth set. 

AROUND THE LONE STAR

The Lady Buffs are tied for second place in league play with Angelo State Rambelles. The University of Arkansas-Fort Smith is the only undefeated team in the LSC (6-0). The Lady Buffs will face the Lions this Friday in The Box for the top-seed in conference. 

The Dallas Baptist Patriots took their first losses in conference play against Texas A&M Kingsville and Texas A&M International this past weekend. The losses dropped the Patriots to a tie for third with the Texas Woman's Pioneers. Texas A&M Kingsville, Texas A&M International and St. Mary's round out the top eight in conference as the league swings into the second half of LSC play. 

WT HEAD COACH KENDRA POTTS

Kendra Potts begins her fifth season at the helm of Lady Buff Volleyball with an overall 109-22 (.830) record and 60-11 (.845) in league play.  Potts led her alma mater to the program's 4th NCAA National Championship after capturing the South Central Regional title to become the sixth head coach in program history to guide WT to the Elite Eight. Coach Potts was named the AVCA Division II National Head Coach of the Year following her 33-4 record and 26 game winning streak for the 2022 season.

WT HOME DOMINANCE

WT houses one of the best home environments in the country across all of NCAA volleyball. The WTAMU fieldhouse, best known as "The Box" is home to 21 Lone Star Conference Championships, 15 regional titles and four NCAA Division II National Championships. At "The Box" the Lady Buffs are 532-83 since 1980 for an incredible winning percentage of .865. 

BRITKARE COURT

WT Athletics proudly announced a new state-of-the-art court for the historic home of Lady Buff Volleyball thanks to a generous gift from BritKare Home Medical that highlighted the 2021 season.   ¬BritKare Court at The Box features a top-line Taraflex court surface that is widely used in Division I arenas, professional volleyball and was most recently featured at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.