No. 17 Angelo State 3, A&M-Commerce 0
Location: Stephens Arena • San Angelo, Texas
Records: A&M-Commerce (8-14, 3-11 LSC); Angelo State (25-2, 14-1 LSC)
Up Next: vs. Texas Woman's • Tuesday, Oct. 25 • 7 p.m. • The Field House
SAN ANGELO, Texas -- A&M-Commerce saw firsthand why Angelo State is one of the top teams in the country as the Lions suffer a 14-25, 7-25, 20-25 defeat at the hands of the 17th-ranked Rambelles at Stephens Arena in San Angelo.
Rachel Robertson again paced the Lions with nine kills, but failed to crack double-digits, ending her consecutive double-dig kill streak at 11. She also had no blocks on the night for the first time this season. Ezon Onditi was second on the team with five kills for A&M-Commerce and notched 10 digs on the back row with a block and a service ace.
Jordan Neal posted 17 assists with four kills for the Lions while Breanne Snyder had three kills and two blocks. Dakota Crockett led A&M-Commerce with 16 digs on the night.
Angelo State set the tone from the get-go, racing out to a 15-1 lead in the first set, aided by six attack errors by the Lions. A&M-Commerce settled down after that, pulling to within 10 on three different occasions, but the deficit proved to be too much as the Rambelles take the opener 25-14.
Set two didn't play out much better for A&M-Commerce as once again an early Angelo State run gave the Rambelles a commanding 10-1 advantage. After cutting the gap to eight at 13-5, Angelo found its groove once again, outscoring the Lions 12-2, including a 6-0 run and a 5-0 run, to dominate the second set 25-7.
Following the intermission, A&M-Commerce seemed to show signs of life early in the third, opening up an early 4-2 lead on Angelo State. But again, the Rambelles showed why they are nationally ranked, putting together a 9-2 run to take control of the third at 11-6. A 7-1 run shortly thereafter extended the gap to nine at 20-11, and that was all Angelo State would need. A&M-Commerce would string together a 5-0 run, its biggest of the afternoon, to trim the gap to five at 22-17, but the Rambelles were too tough down the stretch, closing out the match with a 25-20 victory.
One key area was in hitting percentage as Angelo State hit .328 on the afternoon compared to A&M-Commerce's .088. The Rambelles also had a decisive advantage in assists (47 to 25), digs (61 to 48) and blocks (seven to none). Kaelen Valdez led the way with 12 kills on the night, notching a double-double with 13 digs. Celeste Bonter added 11 kills while Alex Woolsey posted 38 assists and 14 digs for the Rambelles.
A&M-Commerce now enters the crucial part of its schedule as it tries to make a run at a possible Lone Star Conference tournament bid, playing five of its final six matches of the regular season at the Field House. The stretch run begins Tuesday when the Lions host Texas Woman's at 7 p.m. The match against the Pioneers is the Lions' Dig Pink match of the 2011 season, raising awareness for breast cancer. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the match with the first 100 fans receiving pink shirts.
