The Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team dropped a
25-22, 25-11, 23-25, 25-16 decision to Midwestern State on Thursday
night at the A&M-Commerce Field House.
Both teams entered the match with identical records and featured
balanced offensive attacks.
Midwestern State (11-11, 5-4 LSC) got a double double from
setter Taryn Westerman, who had 34 assists and 11 digs in the win.
Shelbi Stewart led an attack that out hit the Lions, .203 to .047,
with a team-best 13 kills.
A&M-Commerce (10-12, 2-7 LSC) sophomore Rachel
Robertson (pictured; photo by Jared
Horn) had a team-best 13 kills and hit a team-best .242
in the loss.
The host Lions built a 9-2 advantage in the opening set;
however, the Mustangs rallied to tie the set seven times, including
at 21. An A&M-Commerce attack error and a kill by Miranda Bird
gave MSU a two-point cushion and enough en route to the 25-22
victory. In the set, Stewart had four kills and Westerman had five
assists. For the Lions, senior Terra Ousley had
four kills to pace an A&M-Commerce attack that hit .200.
Midwestern State dominated the second set after an early tie at
3. A&M-Commerce would cut the deficit to as little as one, 8-7,
but MSU outscored the Lions by a 17-4 margin for a two-set
lead.
Coming out of the intermission, the Lions bounced back to take
the third se by a 25-23 margin. The two teams were tied four times,
early into the set. Two MSU attack errors and a service error,
followed by a Robertson kill gave the Lions a 13-9 lead.
A&M-Commerce built a 22-16 lead until MSU rallied with a 7-1
run to tie the set at 23. The Lions closed out the set with a kill
by Jordan Neal and capitalized on an attack error by the Mustangs
to take the third set.
In the fourth set, the two teams were tied at 5 before a
four-point spurt put the visitors ahead and for the remainder of
the set. With the victory in the fourth set, the Mustangs picked up
the victory. MSU continued to offer a balanced attack with four
more kills from Stewart and libero Kiara Jordan had six of her 17
digs. For the Lions, Robertson and freshman Kayla
Bond each added five kills and senor Naomi
Mays had five of her team-high 15 digs.
The Lions will look to return to its winning ways on Sunday at 3
p.m. when they host Cameron University at the A&M-Commerce
Field House.
