The St. Edward’s University volleyball team’s Heartland Conference winning streak is over due to a loss to Arkansas-Fort Smith.

The Hilltoppers lost three-straight sets to the Lions, 21-25, 21-25 and 28-30.

“Our consistency during this game was like a rollercoaster,” freshman setter Mary McNamara said. “We would be on a high of amazing plays, and then go to a low of mental errors.”

In the first set, St. Edward’s found themselves ahead in an early 16-10 lead, but Arkansas-Fort Smith surged ahead at the end by winning the last three points of the set, giving the Lions the win.

The Hilltoppers and the Lions battled point-for-point in the second set, keeping the score extremely close. However, Arkansas-Fort Smith went on to win the last seven points of the set, giving them their second set win of the match.

The Hilltoppers, looking to keep the match alive, matched every Arkansas-Fort Smith point in the third set for a 13-13 mid-set tie. The Lions then went on a seven-point run, putting them up 20-13. St. Edward’s fought back with five unanswered points, but eventually fell to the Lions in a two-point loss.

Junior Whitney Rhoden led the Hilltoppers with ten kills and nine digs, and junior Ashley Vander Hey had nine kills and 13 digs.

Sophomore Michelle Hundt came away as dig leader of the match for the Hilltoppers with 23, and senior Chelsea Barsamian racked up 30 assists.

“Our team feeds off of each other in both good and not so good aspects,” McNamara said. “For example, when we make an unforced error, we tend to feed off of it and continue making errors until we can make a great play instead of being consistent with good plays.”

Senior Stacie Robertson said that the team mentally checked out during the game.

“After the game our coach told us in the locker room that the only thing stopping us from being a consistent team was our mentality,” Robertson said. “I think our coach was right because the biggest reason we lost against Fort Smith was because we weren’t prepared mentally for the match.”

McNamara also said that the team needs to address errors.  

“Volleyball is a game of mistakes, so it is going to happen, but the small errors can be eliminated when we are focused on doing little things,” McNamara said.

Head coach Sean Donahue said that the team just gave away too many unforced errors against Fort Smith.

“When we lose focus we give up points,” Donahue said.

The Hilltoppers are back in action on Oct. 1 when they take on Wasburn in the Washburn Regional Crossover in Topeka, Kan.