In the Tangi Tourism Tournament, the Lady Lions beat all teams, finishing and winning the tournament 4-0.
The tournament was held Friday, Sept. 13 and Saturday Sept. 14. The Lady Lions played against Louisiana Tech (4-4), Nebraska-Omaha (1-5), Southern (1-6) and Stetson (5-3). The Lady Lions (6-6) played strong and hard throughout the entire tournament, beating Stetson as the tournament opened in a four match set on Friday. They came back on Friday evening and beat Omaha in a four match set.
Saturday morning the Lady Lions beat Southern University, one of their in-state rivals, in a four match set. Rachael Bunn, a freshman middle blocker, led the way with 11 kills without any error.  Mikayla Shippy, a sophomore setter, came out with 38 assists while Morgan Todd, sophomore libero, had 19 digs and Brooke Balser, sophomore outside hitter, had 12. The team had 13.5 blocks all together.
The Lady Lions held the tournament with a 3-0 record as they began to play state rival Louisiana Tech. Tiffany Thomas, a transfer from Louisiana Tech, sophomore and outside hitter, led the Lady Lions with 16 kills.
“They played really strong and got into their heads early,” said Thomas.
The Lady Lions came out with a win against Tech in a four match set. With Thomas’ 16 kills and Bunn with 11, the team had 50 kills in the four match set.
“We manage to find a way to win. That’s what’s important — finding a way to win,” said coach Jim Smoot.
The Lady Lions began on with a shaky start for the season, losing against Southern Miss. last game, but this did not stop them from out-performing the competition during the classic.
“It was a great performance by our girls, and it was really important that we got to play some teams that were on the same level as us,” said Smoot.
The Lady Lions will continue to play this season as they take on the Northwestern State Demons in Natchitoches, Louisiana on Sept. 19. The next home game this season will take place Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. against Central Arkansas in the University Center.