Cinderella is ready to dance again.

Almost two weeks after making its surprising march to the NCAA Division II South Central Region title, the UAFS volleyball team is ready to continue its historic national tournament run this weekend.

UAFS (28-4) will play New Haven (24-8) in the Elite Eight at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday at Knights Hall in Louisville, Ky. It will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

The match will be broadcast live at NCAA.com, and live statistics will be available.
           
It's been a postseason of firsts for the UAFS, which is in the midst of only its fourth season as an active NCAA Division II member.

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, is one of only two No. 7 seeds to advance to the Elite Eight. It joins New Haven (a No. 2 seed), Southwest Minnesota (a No. 3 seed), Sonoma State (a No. 7 seed), Wingate (a No. 1 seed), Grand Valley State (a No. 3 seed), Wheeling Jesuit (a No. 3 seed) and Tampa (a No. 1 seed).

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.

"We are very excited to be the first team at UAFS to take this historic step into the Elite Eight," UAFS coach Jane Sargent said. "We played some of the best volleyball of the season in those last two matches against Tarleton and Mesa, and we are hoping to get back to that level of play on Thursday. Our focus, like it's been all year, is to try and play together as one unit."

Volleyball often has been described as a game of momentum. UAFS certainly had momentum in its favor after winning the region tournament on Sunday, Nov. 23, at Colorado-Mesa's Brownson Arena in Grand Junction, Colo.   

Sargent said the Lady Lions can't let the 10-day layoff be a factor.

"Momentum definitely played a large role in our success at regionals, but we can't let it affect how we play especially since all the other teams are in the exact same position as we are with the two-week break," Sargent said. "We looked at the break as a means to rejuvenate, regroup and focus on what's ahead."

 During the break, it's been business as usual for the Lady Lions during practice.

"It's hard to reinvent the wheel at this point in the season," Sargent said. "We have been working our practices like we always do, going over sound fundamentals that we feel like have been the key to our success all year."

UAFS is hitting at a 0.236 clip with four players averaging 2 or more kills per set. Senior outside hitter Michelle Walker leads the team with 435 kills and 3.95 kills per set, while senior middle hitter Jessica Anderson is second with 337 kills and 3.04 kills per set.

Freshman setter Bailey Katzfey leads the team with 1,219 assists and 11.29 assists per set. Sophomore outside hitter Katarina Krstonosic leads the team with 34 aces, while Katzfey is second with 33.

Defensively, UAFS is holding opponents to a 0.138 hitting percentage. Anderson leads the team with 96 blocks and 0.86 blocks per set, while sophomore middle hitter Payton Hamilton is second with 73 blocks and 0.66 blocks per set. Sophomore libero Emily Tripp leads the team with 690 digs
and 6.22 digs per set.

New Haven won a share of its seventh-consecutive Northeast-10 Conference championship and was the No. 1 seed in its conference tournament. The Chargers, however, lost to Adelphi in five sets in the semifinals of the NE-10 Tournament, but they earned an at-large bid to the NE-10 Tournament as the No. 2 seed.

The Chargers dropped only one set during their march to the East Region title, beating Saint Rose (3-0), LIU Post (3-0) and Bridgeport (3-1). It was the 13^th region championship for the Chargers and their second in three seasons.

"New Haven has a very competitive NCAA Division II history," Sargent said. "They have made the Elite Eight 13 times and nine times with their current coach, so they will have the advantage as far as experience goes." 

New Haven has compiled a 0.211 hitting percentage with three players averaging 2 or more kills per set – senior middle hitter Kristy Atufunwa (2.79), junior outside hitter Kristen Lee (2.70) and senior outside hitter Margo Meteyer (2.62). Senior setter Kaulana Ane leads the team with 1,030 assists and 8.88 assists per set.

Sophomore setter Annika Hacker leads the team with 45 aces and is one of four players with 20 or more aces.

"They have two very athletic middles that we will need to slow down in order to be successful, but more importantly, they are a well balanced team that spreads out their offense to five different hitters, which makes it more difficult to key on any one player," Sargent said. "In the past, this type of team has given us some issues."

Defensively, New Haven has held opponents to a 0.135 hitting percentage. Junior libero Kea-Marie Olaso leads the team with 567 digs and 4.89 digs per set. She is one of five players with more than 200 digs and one of six averaging 2 or more digs per set.

Atufunwa leads the team with 127 blocks and 1.13 blocks per set. She is one of seven players with 20 or more blocks.