JACKSON, Tenn. - The Freed-Hardeman University Lady Lions entered the TranSouth Conference Volleyball Tournament with an unblemished conference record and the No. 1 seed.

They left it a lot earlier than anyone anticipated.

After winning 14 straight conference matches in the regular season, FHU lost twice on Monday in the early rounds of the double-elimination conference tournament. Now, after ranking at No. 28 in the latest NAIA national poll, the Lady Lions hold onto the hope that an at-large bid to the national tournament will come their way.

FHU started the day off looking like the No. 1 seed, easily sweeping Mid-Continent (Ky.) University, 25-12, 25-9, 25-12. The Lady Lions then had to wait over four hours before their next match, and they were never able to recapture the rhythm they had in the morning.

Lyon (Ark.) College, the No. 4 seed, came from a 2-1 deficit to take the final two games and pull off the biggest upset of the day. That evening, FHU tried to do the same to Trevecca Nazarene (Tenn.) University. Trailing two games to one and down 18-11 in the fourth game, the Lady Lions staged a furious rally that saw them take 10 straight points and go ahead 21-18. But the Lady Trojans kept their composure and eventually took the game and the match, 25-23.

Though the TranSouth Conference post-season awards took little sting away from the defeat, the Lady Lions were again well-represented. Crissandra Perez won Player of the Year, Fernanda Alves was Freshman of the Year, and Todd Humphry was again named Coach of the Year. Perez, Alves, Sydney Rice, and Karim Raymond were named to the first-team while Martha Ray and Claire Pennington were second-team selections.