A&M-Kingsville 3, A&M-Commerce 0
Location: Steinke Center * Kingsville, Texas
Records: A&M-Commerce (2-8, 1-7 LSC); A&M-Kingsville (5-6, 3-6 LSC)
Up Next: Texas Woman's Tournament * Sept. 30 – Oct. 1 * Denton, Texas
KINGSVILLE, Texas – Texas A&M University-Commerce's road frustrations continued Saturday as the Lions dropped a three-set decision 17-25, 21-25, 21-25 to Texas A&M-Kingsville at the Steinke Center. A&M-Commerce dropped to 2-8 on the year and 1-7 in Lone Star Conference play while the Javelinas improved to 5-6 and 3-6 in conference play.
Breanne Snyder continued to pace the A&M-Commerce offense, finishing with nine kills and five digs to pace the Lions, with Kayla Bond adding seven kills, five digs and three blocks of her own. Rachel Robertson and Ezon Onditi both recorded five kills for A&M-Commerce with Robertson adding a team-best four blocks.
Jordan Neal finished with 29 assists and six digs for the Lions with a pair of blocks. Defensively, Dakota Crockett posted 16 digs on the afternoon for A&M-Commerce with Morgan Moeller adding eight of her own.
Slow starts have plagued the Lions in recent matches and Saturday's bout against A&M-Kingsville was no different as A&M-Commerce found itself trailing by five early at 13-8, forcing a timeout. The Javelinas ended up pushing that advantage to seven at 17-10 before a 6-3 run by the Lions closed the gap to four at 20-16. But it was A&M-Kingsville that would tally five of the final six points to take the opener 25-17.
A&M-Kingsville carried that momentum into set two, building another early lead at 15-10. Another A&M-Commerce rally pulled the Lions to within two points on a pair of occasions, the latter of which came at 22-20. But once again, it was the Javelinas that got the key points down the stretch, recording three of the last four points to take the second 25-21.
In recent matches, the Lions have played better following the intermission and this match was no different as the Lions and Javelinas battled back and forth in the third as the teams combined for eight ties and four lead changes. But with the match tied at 18 late in the third, A&M-Kingsville once again was the team that was able to notch the key points down the stretch, outscoring the Lions 7-3 to close out the match with the 3-0 victory, ending a three-match losing streak to A&M-Commerce.
For the match, the Javelinas out-hit the Lions .240 to .046 and held a 13-7 advantage in blocks. Kelsey Washington paced A&M-Kingsville with 11 kills while Bethany Friesenhahn added eight kills. Laura Macek caused havoc all afternoon at the net, recording 11 blocks for A&M-Kingsville.
A&M-Commerce now takes a step out of Lone Star Conference play, getting nearly a week off to try and break out of its recent skid. The Lions return to the court next Friday, traveling to Denton for the Texas Woman's Tournament. A&M-Commerce faces Arkansas-Fort Smith and Arkansas-Monticello Friday, Sept. 30, before taking on Arkansas Tech and Southeastern Oklahoma on Saturday, Oct. 1.
