A&M-Commerce 3, Eastern New Mexico 2
Location: Greyhound Arena • Portales, N.M.
Records: A&M-Commerce (13-4, 4-3 LSC); Eastern New Mexico (4-12, 2-5 LSC)
Up Next: vs. Ouachita Baptist • Wednesday Oct. 16 • 6:00 p.m. • The Field House

PORTALES, N.M. – A&M-Commerce survived a back and forth affair with Eastern New Mexico to get out of Portales with a 3-2 win and split the road trip west after a 3-0 loss to West Texas on Friday night.

The Lions saved their best for last in the fifth set hitting .306 on 13 kills to just two errors and closed the match on a 6-1 run to secure the win.

The first set was a highly competitive one in which neither team was able to put much distance between the other. The Lions took an 18-15 lead off a kill by Amy Davault then never trailed again. A kill from Breanne Snyder sealed the win for the Lions at 25-23.

The second set was almost the exact opposite. The Zias came out on fire winning 11 of the first 13 points and 12 of the first 17, forcing a Lion timeout with the score 13-5 in favor of the home team. The Lions tried to recover but were unable and the Zias went on another scoring run to make it 18-6 to put the set out of reach. An attack error by the Lions gave the Zias a 25-13 set two win.

A&M-Commerce shook off the second set and came out better in the third taking a 10-6 lead early on. The lead was stretched to six and stayed there through most of the set before a three nothing run made it 25-18 for the Lions. Kayla Bond and Lindsey Wheeler provided the kills on the run.

Set number shared a lot in common with set number two. Eastern New Mexico came out hot again, winning 12 of the first 16 points 15 of the first 20. The Lions could never recover as the Zias cruised to a 25-11 set win to force a fifth set.

The fifth set was much more competitive than set number four. The teams split the first 16 points evenly. The Lions took a 9-8 lead off a Bond kill then the Zias scored three straight to take an 11-9 lead. A timeout by the Lions got things back in order as the Lions closed the match on a 6-1 run to take the set 15-12. 

Breanne Snyder led the Lions with 17 kills and recorded nine digs on the afternoon. Amy Davault notched another double-double with her 16 kill – 15 dig performance. It was Davault's fifth in her last six games for the Lions. Kayla Bond had 11 kills and hit .280 in the match and added an ace and a block. Jordan Neal also recorded a double-double with her 52 assists and 14 digs. Neal now has four double-doubles in her last six games. The 52 assists are the third time in the last four, in which Neal has reached the 50-assist plateau.

The Lions return to the court on Wednesday, October 16 at 6:00 p.m. at The Field House to take on the Tigers of Ouachita Baptist. The Lions then jump back in to Lone Star Conference play with another road trip next weekend to face Angelo State and Tarleton State.