COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team defeated Texas A&M University-Kingsville on Saturday afternoon. The Lions lost the first set but rebounded to take the final three sets. The set scores were 23-25, 26-24, 25-18 and 25-17.
The win brings the Lions to 16-9 on the season and 11-4 in the Lone Star Conference. The Javelinas fall to 17-10 and 9-6 in conference play.
The Lions will finish their three-match home stand with a match against Cameron on Tuesday. The match will begin at 6 p.m. in the Field House. Fans, especially children and A&M-Commerce students, are encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes and to participate in the Under Armour Costume Contest.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Layne Little had tied her season high with 17 kills in the match to lead all hitters. She also had two blocks and six digs.
- Neka Nelson had a season-high 13 kills in the match. She also had four blocks.
- Shelley Chapron had eight kills and a team-high eight blocks. Mariyah Oliver also had eight kills and added four blocks.
- Jaslyn Wacker had seven kills and five blocks and led the team with three aces.
- Preston Lienemann had four kills and seven digs. Jaryn Wacker added two kills.
- Savannah Rutledge led the team with 26 digs and added an ace and six assists.
- Rylie Fuentes led the team with 25 assists and had 13 digs. Gabriela Rosa had 22 assists and six digs.
- The Lion defense held the Javelinas to just a .071 hitting percentage with 28 attack errors and had 13 blocks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lions scored the first three points of the first set before the Javelinas went on a run early. A&M-Kingsville scored eight points in a row. The Lions had several unforced errors in the rally. It was part of an 11-1 run that gave the Javelinas an 11-4 lead midway through the set.
The Lions then fought back, taking five of the next six points to narrow the gap. Nelson had three kills in the rally as the lead was cut to just three points. The Javelinas responded to take four points in a row to build their lead back up to seven. Facing set point at 24-18, the Lions scored five points in a row to trail by just one, including a kill by both Nelson and Chapron and a shared block. However, the Javelinas finally found the hardwood on an attack to take the first set 25-23.
It was a back and forth start to the second set as the teams split the first six points. The Javelinas then took a three-point lead. The Lions fought back to tie the set at eight. A&M-Kingsville then went on a run to build their lead to 16-11.
The Lions showed resiliency and scored five points in a row, including two kills and a block from Little to tie the set at 16-all. It was part of an 8-1 run that gave the Lions a 19-17 lead. The teams continued to battle. Trailing by two, the Javelinas scored three points in a row to force set point at 24-23. The Lions then scored the final three points of the set to win 26-24 in extra points.
The teams traded early rallies, with each team taking three points in a row early on. The Javelinas then scored five points in a row to build an 8-4 lead. The teams continued to trade points and the Javelinas held a 14-10 lead.
The Lions then went on a tear in the third set. They scored seven points in a row as part of an 11-2 run to take command of the third set. Nelson, Chapron and Little each had two kills in the rally as the Lions held a 21-16 lead. The Lions scored the final three points of the set to take the third set 25-18.
The Lions started the fourth set strong, taking six of the first eight points. Jaslyn Wacker had two aces in the rally and the Lions had four aces in the first 14 points to take a 10-4 lead. A&M-Kingsville scored four of the next five points to get back into the set and cut the Lion lead to 14-12 at the halfway mark.
The Lions then went on another rally, scoring six points in a row. The Lion defense forced multiple Javelina attack errors in the rally. The Javelinas cut the Lion lead down to five points before A&M-Commerce scored the final three points of the match, winning the fourth set 25-17.