A&M-Commerce 3, Henderson State 1
Location: Duke Wells Center * Arkadelphia, Ark.
Records: A&M-Commerce (8-12); Henderson State (4-22)
Up Next: at Abilene Christian * Thursday, Oct. 20 * 7 p.m.
ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Three Lions recorded double-digit kills with three also notching double-doubles as A&M-Commerce rallied to defeat Henderson State 22-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-21 at the Duke Wells Center in Arkadelphia. A&M-Commerce sweeps the season series against Henderson State and improves to 8-12 on the year, having won five of its last seven matches.
"We really had to grind out this win tonight," said head coach Craig Case. "It wasn't the prettiest of wins, but it was a win, which we need at this point of the season. We were a little out of sync in the opening set, but I thought our players did a good job of adjusting and doing what they needed to do in order to get the win tonight."
Rachel Robertson notched a team-high 18 kills, her 10th-consecutive double-digit kill night, while hitting .316 with a pair of blocks. Ezon Onditi set career-highs with 14 kills and 11 digs, posting the second double-double of her career, hitting .429 for the Lions. Fellow freshman Breanne Snyder added 13 kills for A&M-Commerce as she recorded the fourth double-double of her young career, adding 11 digs.
Jordan Neal was the third Lion to post a double-double on the night, finishing with 39 assists and 13 digs for A&M-Commerce with five kills and a service ace. Kayla Bond added seven kills and eight digs up front with Morgan Moeller notching seven digs defensively.
The opening set set the tone for what would be a competitive match throughout as neither team was able to establish a lead of more than three points during the opening part. With the set tied at 17-17, Henderson State was able to string together a 5-0 run, building a 22-17 lead late in the opener. A&M-Commerce attempted a late comeback but the deficit was too great, dropping the opener 25-22.
The Lady Reddies opened up an early 6-1 lead on the Lions in set two, but A&M-Commerce was able to settle down its play and used a 10-3 run to take the lead at 11-9. After exchanging points for a time, Henderson State looked poised to take the second, building a 20-17 lead late. But this time, it was the Lions that responded, notching eight of the final nine points of the set to earn the 25-21 victory and tie the match heading to intermission.
A&M-Commerce continued that momentum into the third, using an extended run culminated with a 6-1 run to build a comfortable 20-13 lead. The Lady Reddies were able to chip away slightly, but the lead was too much to surmount as A&M-Commerce took the 25-21 victory in set three.
With the match on the line, Henderson State took control early in the fourth, building a 14-10 edge midway through the stanza. But A&M-Commerce once again showed its aggressiveness, using a 9-1 run to take a 19-15 advantage over the Lady Reddies. Henderson State was able to pull to within one at 20-19, but it was A&M-Commerce that once again got the key points down the stretch, outscoring the Lady Reddies 5-2, capped by a kill by Bond, to close out the match 3-1.
Ty Lindberg proved to be Henderson State's key weapon, recording 22 kills on 71 attempts with 11 digs, but she had little supporting help on the night. Candance Redwine posted seven kills and Sarah Williams added six for the Lady Reddies with Brooke Walford contributing 27 assists and Lauren Ray adding 22 digs.
The match against Henderson State marked the final non-conference match of the year for A&M-Commerce as its final eight matches will pit the Lions against Lone Star Conference foes. The Lions remain on the road through the duration of the weekend, taking on Abilene Christian at 7 p.m. Thursday before a showdown with 17th-ranked Angelo State on Saturday at 2 p.m.
