November 2, 2012

A&M-Commerce Lions vs. Abilene Christian Wildcats
Friday, November 2 • 7 p.m.
The Field House • Commerce, Texas
Records: A&M-Commerce (19-8, 10-7 LSC); Abilene Christian (10-16, 6-10 LSC)

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Opening Serve
A&M-Commerce opens up the final homestand of 2012 with three final matches to close out the regular season. The season-ending stretch begins Friday when the Lions welcome Abilene Christian to the Field House for the final time, getting underway at 7 p.m.

Robertson, Neal Rake in LSC Player of the Week Accolades
After helping lead A&M-Commerce to three-straight 3-0 sweeps in the course of five days, a pair of Lions were tabbed Lone Star Conference Players of the Week. Senior middle blocker Rachel Robertson was named the Offensive Player of the Week after notching 53 kills and a .551 hitting percentage, including a career-best 25 in the victory at Abilene. She had no hitting errors against either Cameron or Midwestern State, averaging 5.9 kills per set. Junior setter Jordan Neal dished out 123 assists during the span, averaging 13.67 per set with a pair of double-doubles. Neal also had 10 service aces, including six in the sweep of the Mustangs. It was the third Player of the Week accolade for Robertson this season, with Neal picking up her fourth weekly honor.

Scouting the Wildcats
2012: 10-16 overall, 6-10 Lone Star Conference (7th), 1-7 road
Last Three Matches: W vs. Incarnate Word (3-0), L vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville (3-0), L vs. A&M-Commerce (3-0)
Head Coach: Kellen Mock (Abilene Christian, 2005). Seventh season at Abilene Christian (146-76, .658)
Key Players:
• #11 Sara Oxford (So., MB): 264 kills, .125 hitting pct., 196 digs, 40 blocks
• #9 Jennie Loerch (Fr., OH): 252 kills, .139 hitting pct., 164 digs, 18 blocks
• #5 Rachel Riley (So., OH): 199 kills, .191 hitting pct., 59 digs, 25 blocks
• #8 Corrie Reeder (Fr., MB): 170 kills, .176 hitting pct., 70 blocks
• #2 Sarah Siemens (Fr., S): 928 assists, 60 kills, .176 hitting pct., 12 aces, 195 digs, 48 blocks
• #14 Madison Hoover (Fr., L): 420 digs, 16 aces, 48 assists
Synopsis: Abilene Christian currently sits in seventh in the Lone Star Conference standings at 10-16 overall and 6-10 in conference play. The Wildcats trail sixth-place Texas A&M-Kingsville by half a match while sitting one match better than eighth-place Incarnate Word. The Wildcats field a young team, consisting primarily of freshmen and sophomores, and are coming off a 3-0 sweep of the Cardinals, snapping a four-match skid.

Series Information
Friday marks the end of an era as A&M-Commerce and Abilene Christian meet for the 55th and possibly final time as the Wildcats will make the jump to Division I beginning in 2013. The Lions hold a 28-26 edge in the all-time season, including an emotional 3-0 victory over the Wildcats on October 23, A&M-Commerce's first win in Abilene since 1995. It snapped a four-match skid to Abilene Christian as now the Lions look to halt a two-match losing streak to the Wildcats in Commerce as A&M-Commerce is 11-6 all-time against Abilene Christian at the Field House.

Last Time Out
A&M-Commerce faced a tough outing Tuesday night, falling at Texas Woman's 17-25, 19-25, 11-25 at Kitty Magee Arena. The loss to the Pioneers snapped a three-match winning as the Lions all but wrapped up the five-seed in the Lone Star Conference tournament. Rachel Robertson had another impressive outing, finishing with 11 kills and a .273 hitting percentage, but needed some help as Breanne Snyder added six kills and Ezon Onditi finishing with four. Texas Woman's sweeps the season series as it appears the Lions and Pioneers will meet once again on the season in the first round of the conference tournament.

Milestone Watch
Heading into the weekend, three Lions remain within striking distance of some impressive single-season and career milestones. Senior middle blocker Rachel Robertson has posted a .390 hitting percentage, which ranks second in program history behind Amy Wallace's .422 in 2001. Robertson also upped her career kill total to 1,308, needing just 20 to move back Alice Fortes into third all-time in career kills. Michaela Spicer has notched 471 digs on the year, the eighth-best performance in program history, while Jordan Neal is at 994 assists on the season, sitting six shy of becoming the fourth player in program history to notch back-to-back 1,000 assist seasons.

2012 Single-Match Highs
With two weeks remaining in the 2012 regular season, here are the A&M-Commerce team and individual season highs:
Team Single Match Highs

Hitting Percentage:	.404, vs. West Alabama (Aug. 31)
Kills:	65, vs. Southeastern Oklahoma (Sept. 7)
Attempts:	204, vs. Southeastern Oklahoma (Sept. 7)
Assists:	55, at Tarleton State (Oct. 5)
Digs:	93, vs. Southeastern Oklahoma (Sept. 7)
Service Aces:	14, vs. LeMoyne-Owen (Sept. 1)
Blocks:	10.5, vs. Eastern New Mexico (Sept. 22)

Individual Single Match Highs

Hitting Percentage:	.667, Rachel Robertson vs. West Alabama (Aug. 31)
Kills:	25, Rachel Robertson at Abilene Christian (Oct. 23)
Attempts:	52, Breanne Snyder vs. Ouachita Baptist (Sept. 7)
Assists:	51, Jordan Neal at Tarleton State (Oct. 5)
Digs:	29, Michaela Spicer vs. William Jewell (Sept. 8)
Service Aces:	6, Jordan Neal vs. Midwestern State (Oct. 27)
Blocks:	7, Kayla Bond vs. Eastern New Mexico (Sept. 22)
	7, Ciara Holmes vs. Eastern New Mexico (Sept. 22)

 

Looking Ahead
A&M-Commerce closes out the 2012 regular season with a pair of matches against the top two teams in the Lone Star Conference next weekend. The Lions host LSC-leading Angelo State at 7 p.m. Friday, November 9, followed by a meeting with second-place Tarleton State at 7 p.m. Saturday, November 10. The match against the TexAnns marks Senior Day 2012 as the Lions will recognize its four seniors prior to the match.