A&M-Commerce 3, Midwestern State 1
Location: The Field House • Commerce, Texas
Records: A&M-Commerce (7-11, 3-8 LSC); Midwestern State (12-8, 4-7 LSC)
Up Next: vs. Cameron • Saturday, Oct. 15 • 2 p.m. • Commerce, Texas
COMMERCE, Texas – Behind a double-double from Breanne Snyder and a near double-double from Rachel Robertson, A&M-Commerce rallied to notch a big 18-25, 26-24, 25-17, 25-22 Lone Star Conference victory over Midwestern State at the Field House. The Lions improve to 7-11 on the year and 3-8 in conference play and have won four of their last five matches.
"I thought we really came together well as a team, especially in the later sets," said head coach Craig Case. "Breanne and Rachel played amazing tonight and we had a solid outing from pretty much everyone that stepped foot on the court. This was a big win for us and hopefully we can continue this momentum Saturday."
Snyder notched her third double-double of the season, finishing with 14 kills and tying her career-best with 17 digs. She hit .357 for the match, posting just four errors on 28 attempts, with five blocks and a service ace.
Robertson just missed her first career double-double, finishing with 13 kills and nine blocks on the night. Six of Robertson's blocks were unassisted as she added a service ace and two digs on the night for the Lions.
Offensively, Kayla Bond and Chelsee Hudson each added eight kills a piece to the A&M-Commerce attack with Ezon Onditi contributing six kills as well. Those five Lions were the only ones to record a kill against the Mustangs.
Jordan Neal continued to be lethal on the serve, notching six service aces, including three-straight in the second set to help the Lions gain momentum. She also finished with 39 assists and four digs. Onditi and Bond each posted three blocks defensively for the Lions with Dakota Crockett eclipsing the double-digit dig plateau, finishing with 12.
It was a competitive match all evening as A&M-Commerce and Midwestern State dueled it out early in set one, combining for eight ties and three lead changes. With the match tied at 14, the Mustangs put together a 6-0 run to break things open at 20-14. A 4-1 run late sealed the Lions' fate as Midwestern State held on to take the opener 25-18.
But it was A&M-Commerce that pounced out to the early lead in set two, using a pair of 4-0 runs and a 5-0 run, including the three aces from Neal, to take control of the set 16-9. But Midwestern State put together a run of its own, outscoring the Lions 11-4 to tie things up at 20 apiece. From there, the Lions and Mustangs exchanged points down the stretch. With the set tied at 24, a kill from Robertson and a service ace from Savanah Neal proved to be the difference as A&M-Commerce took the second 26-24.
The Lion momentum carried through the intermission as A&M-Commerce notched six of the first seven points of set three and never looked back, going wire-to-wire to notch the 25-17 victory. The Mustangs were able to trim the gap to one at 14-13 and again at 17-16, but an 8-1 run down the stretch put the set out of reach.
With victory just 25 points away for A&M-Commerce, set four proved to be the most competitive of the night as the Lions and Mustangs combined for 11 ties and four lead changes. Neither team was able to build more than a three-point, ultimately finding the set tied at 20-20. Midwestern State pulled ahead at 22-20, but used a 4-0 run, including Neal's sixth service ace of the night, a kill from Onditi and a block from Bond, to claim a 24-20 lead. With the match hanging in the balance, Bond knocked down the match-clinching kill, giving the Lions the 3-1 win and avenging the 3-1 loss in Wichita Falls earlier this season.
A&M-Commerce out-hit Midwestern State .180 to .144 with nine service aces, 63 digs and 15 blocks compared to the Mustangs' five aces, 70 digs and seven blocks.
Midwestern State had three players eclipse the double-digit kill plateau, led by Shelbi Stewart's 13. Katie Bertling and Hillary White each finished with 11 for the Mustangs with White adding 16 digs for a double-double on the evening. Miranda Byrd led the way defensively with three solo blocks on the night with Kiara Jordan recording 19 digs.
The Lions look to continue their winning ways this Saturday when they host another Lone Star Conference opponent in Cameron. Opening serve against the Aggies is set for 2 p.m. at the Field House.
