Abilene Christian 3, A&M-Commerce 1
Location: The Field House • Commerce, Texas
Records: A&M-Commerce (2-4, 1-3 LSC); Abilene Christian (7-4, 3-0 LSC)
Up Next: vs. Angelo State • Commerce, Texas • Friday, Sept. 16 • 3 p.m.
A&M-Commerce Volleyball Live Stats
COMMERCE, Texas – A&M-Commerce saw big nights from both Rachel Robertson and Breanne Snyder, but a pair of late Abilene Christian rallies proved to be the difference as the Lions fall to the Wildcats 19-25, 25-17, 19-25, 25-27 at the Field House.
Robertson and Snyder led the offensive charge, finishing with 17 and 11 kills respectively for A&M-Commerce. Robertson also added a career-best five service aces to complement her five blocks while Snyder recorded a pair of blocks and four digs for the Lions.
Kayla Bond posted seven kills as well for A&M-Commerce with six digs and a pair of blocks, with Jordan Neal dishing out 34 assists, four kills and three blocks. Dakota Crockett led the Lions with 18 digs on the night, complemented by 10 from Morgan Moeller and eight from Haley Richburg, who posted a career-best two service aces as well.
Abilene Christian, ranked third in the Lone Star Conference preseason poll, jumped out to the early led in set one, only to see A&M-Commerce battle back to tie the set at 15. But in what would be the theme of the night's match, the Wildcats pulled away down the stretch, outscoring the Lions 10-4, including a 5-0 run, taking the opener 25-19.
The momentum shifted drastically in set two as A&M-Commerce came out firing early, pouncing out to a nine-point cushion at 12-3 and never looked back. Abilene Christian made it interesting, using a 5-0 run to pull to within three at 16-13, but the Lions thwarted the comeback attempt by closing out the set on a 9-4 run to tie the match at intermission with a 25-17 decision.
Set three showed how equal the two teams were as the Lions and Wildcats saw eight ties and three lead changes through the set. It appeared A&M-Commerce had found its groove late, using a 3-0 run to take its biggest lead of the set at 19-17. But something sparked on the Abilene Christian side of the net as the Wildcats notched the final eight points of the set, taking the third 25-19.
The victory in set three seemed to energize the Lions in set four, however, as A&M-Commerce controlled the tempo through the majority of the set, building a six-point lead at 15-9. It appeared the match would be heading for a fifth set as A&M-Commerce held a 23-19 lead late. But once again the Lions couldn't hold on to the late lead as the Wildcats used a 5-0 run to take the lead at 24-23. A&M-Commerce was able to fight off a pair of match points, but a pair of kills by the Wildcats iced the match, taking the fourth 2-25.
Abilene Christian was led by 20 kills from Jennie Hutt, who hit .306 on the night. Kalynne Allen finished with eight kills while Neely Borger added seven kills, three service aces and four blocks.
The Lions will have to forget the letdown quickly as they will be back on the court in less than 24 hours, hosting their highest-ranked opponent of the season. A&M-Commerce hosts 20th-ranked and undefeated Angelo State on Friday at 3 p.m. at the Field House. The match was originally scheduled for 5:30 p.m., but was moved up due to a scheduling conflict. Live stats of the match will be available at LionAthletics.com.
