A&M-Commerce 3, Texas Woman's 0
Location: The Field House • Commerce, Texas
Records: A&M-Commerce (9-14, 4-11 LSC); Texas Woman's (10-15, 8-8 LSC)
Up Next: vs. Incarnate Word • Thursday, Oct. 27 • 7 p.m. • The Field House
COMMERCE, Texas -- The first time A&M-Commerce and Texas Woman's met up this season, the Lions needed five sets to squeak by the Pioneers. Tuesday night, three was all they would need as the Lions dominate the Pioneers 25-18, 25-15, 25-20 at the Field House.
A&M-Commerce hit a season-high .361 for the match and had four players hit .375 or better on the evening. Rachel Robertson once again sparked the Lions up front, finishing with 16 kills, a .519 hitting percentage and six blocks, including two solo. Ezon Onditi added 11 kills for A&M-Commerce with a .417 hitting percentage and eight digs.
Breanne Snyder had just four kills but no errors, posting a .444 hitting percentage and a block while Jordan Neal finished with three kills and no errors, recordinga .375 hitting percentage with 35 assists, a pair of service aces, two blocks and five digs.
Ciara Holmes notched a season-high six kills for A&M-Commerce with Kayla Bond adding a pair as well. Six different Lions recorded at least one block assist on the night as A&M-Commerce held a seven to two edge in team blocks. Defensively, Dakota Crockett led the way with 10 digs while Savanah Neal pitched in eight.
The match marked the Lions' annual "Dig Pink" event, helping to generate funds and raise awareness in the fight against breast cancer. It was a festive atmosphere, with breast cancer survivors serving as the match's honorary First Servers, and the Lions seemed to thrive off that energy. Trailing Texas Woman's 14-10 midway through the opening set, A&M-Commerce outscored the Pioneers 15-4 down the stretch, including notching the set's final eight points.
Set two played out in similar fashion as both teams battled during the early part of the stanza before A&M-Commerce took over down the stretch. With the match tied 13-13, the Lions were able to string together a 12-2 run down in the latter part of the set, knocking down the set's final four points to breeze to the 25-15 second set decision, taking a commanding 2-0 lead into the intermission.
With the match on the line and an energetic home crowd cheering them on, A&M-Commerce used another sustained run, breaking open a 7-7 set into a commanding 22-13 lead. Texas Woman's tried to stage a late rally, pulling to within four at 24-20, but a kill from Robertson closed out the sweep for the Lions, who take the season series against the Pioneers after a tough 3-2 decision in Denton on Sept. 13.
Viktorija Jablonska led the way for Texas Woman's with 12 kills with Chloe' Tate adding eight and Katelyn Osborne finishing with seven. But 21 hitting errors, compared to just seven for A&M-Commerce, proved to be too big an obstacle to overcome. Hannah Marshall led the way with 19 assists while Erin Harman posted 14 digs defensively.
The Lions get a much-needed win, pulling to within a half game of Texas A&M-Kingsville for ninth place and are a game and a half behind eighth-place Incarnate Word. A&M-Commerce has a chance to help out its cause in its quest for a Lone Star Conference tournament berth, hosting both the Cardinals and Javelinas this weekend. A&M-Commerce faces Incarnate Word Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Field House before hosting A&M-Kingsville Saturday at 2 p.m.
