A&M-Commerce 3, Texas Woman's 2
Location: Kitty Magee Arena * Denton, Texas
Records: A&M-Commerce (2-3, 1-2 LSC); Texas Woman's (1-6, 1-2 LSC)
Up Next: vs. Abilene Christian * Commerce, Texas * Thursday, Sept. 15 * 7 p.m.
DENTON, Texas -- After a pair of tough losses in its first two Lone Star Conference games, A&M-Commerce turned the corner, defeating Texas Woman's 11-25, 25-12, 25-17, 21-25, 15-9 at Kitty Magee Arena Tuesday evening.
"Any time you can win on the road in our league, its a great win," said head coach Craig Case. "Couple that with us losing a heartbreaking five-setter in our last outing and we feel pretty good. I was really happy with how we played in the fifth set tonight, especially after dropping the fourth. We were able to regroup and get back into our game."
The Lions were led by the duo of Rachel Robertson and Breanne Snyder, who tallied a combined 35 kill between the two of them. Snyder led all players with 18, giving her 40 in her last two outings, while hitting an impressive .381 on 42 swings. She also notched her first career double-double, finishing with 12 digs and four blocks. Robertson nearly added a double-double of her own, posting 17 kills with nine blocks defensively.
Kayla Bond added eight kills with seven digs and three blocks with Morgan Moeller finishing with six kills, 12 digs and eight assists. Jordan Neal dished out 45 assists with 10 digs and four blocks while Dakota Crockett led the Lions with 23 digs on the night as five different Lions eclipsed the double digit dig total. Haley Richburg added 13 digs as well for A&M-Commerce.
A&M-Commerce got off to a rocky start, struggling to find its groove and falling 25-11 in set one. But the Lions bounced back in a major way in set two, roaring past the Pioneers 25-12. A&M-Commerce hit a blistering .440 in set two, recording 13 kills on 25 attempts with just two hitting errors.
With momentum on its side following the intermission, A&M-Commerce jumped out to an early 15-8 advantage and never looked back. Texas Woused man's pulled to within two at 17-15, but that was as close at the Pioneers would get as the Lions an 8-2 run to close out the third set with a convincing 25-17 decision.
With the match on the line, set four proved to be the most competitive of the match as both A&M-Commerce and Texas Woman's matched each other point-for-point until the Pioneers used a 5-0 run to pull ahead 15-10. The Lions were able to pull to within one on two separate occasions, the last of which came at 20-19, but Texas Women's held off the Lion charge to force the decisive fifth set.
That's when Snyder took the match into her hands. She recorded four kills in the early stages of set five to help A&M-Commerce pounce out to a commanding 11-5 advantage. The Lions then kept the Pioneers at bay down the stretch, as with a 12-9 lead, a pair of kills from Ciara Holmes and another from Robertson closed out the match and gave the Lions their first conference victory.
For the match, A&M-Commerce had a .226 hitting percentage compared to .092 for Texas Woman's. The Lions also posted 84 digs on the night with 56 assists and 12 team blocks, opposed to 67 digs, 46 assists and just two blocks for the Pioneers.
The Lions now return home for a three-match home stand at the Field House, beginning Thursday against Abilene Christian. Opening serve against the Wildcats is set for 7 p.m. A&M-Commerce then hosts 20th-ranked Angelo State on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
