A&M-Commerce 3, Henderson State 0
Location: The Field House • Commerce, Texas
Records: A&M-Commerce (1-0), Henderson State (0-5)
Up Next: at Midwestern State • Thursday, Sept. 8 • 5 p.m.
COMMERCE, Texas -- Behind a match-best 14 kills from Rachel Robertson, A&M-Commerce cruised to a 25-12, 25-20, 25-13 sweep over Henderson State in the 2011 season opener at the Field House.
Robertson knocked down her 14 kills on 26 attempts with just two errors for an impressive .462 hitting percentage with a pair of service aces and three blocks. Breanne Synder added five kills on the attack for the Lions with Kayla Bond recording four in the victory.
Jordan Neal was a major factor all night for A&M-Commerce, dishing out 24 assists while recording a career-best seven service aces to go along with seven digs. Morgan Moeller added three service aces for the Lions, who finished with 13 on the night, and eight digs with Dakota Crockett leading the way with 10 digs on the night.
After exchanging points early in set one, A&M-Commerce found itself with a 9-8 lead before finding the spark it would need. The Lions outscored the Lady Reddies 16-4 through the remainder of the set, led by four kills from Robertson and three aces on four serves from Neal, complemented by her 12 assists.
Set two proved to be the most competitive of the match as neither team was able to establish a foothold. Henderson State used a 4-2 run to take a slim 18-17 advantage, but that was as close as A&M-Commerce would let them come, scoring eight of the final 10 points of the match to take a 2-0 edge into the intermission. Robertson again paced the Lion attack recording five kills and a pair of blocks with Snyder and Ezon Onditi adding a pair of kills each.
With the match on the line and momentum on its side, A&M-Commerce finished what it started in set three, pouncing out to a 12-4 lead early and never looked back. Robertson would add five more kills in the final stanza, including the match-clincher, with Melanie Williams notching a pair in her debut to finish off the sweep for the Lions.
Up next for A&M-Commerce is a challenging three-match road trip which will take them to three different venues in three different cities in three different days. The Lions open up Lone Star Conference play at Midwestern State on Thursday, Sept. 8 before taking on Colorado State-Pueblo in Dallas on Friday, Sept. 9 and then traveling to Cameron for an LSC tilt on Saturday, Sept. 10.
