STEPHENVILLE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team fought hard but were pushed back in each set by Tarleton State, as the Lions lost their Lone Star Conference opener 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-21) in Wisdon Gym on Friday evening.
The Lions fall to 5-5 overall and 0-1 in LSC play, while Tarleton is now 8-1 overall and 1-0 in league play. The Lions travel to No. 8 Angelo State for a 2 p.m. start Saturday.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
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Shantel Norton led the Lions with 13 kills, hitting for a .346 percentage in the match.
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Daisge Smith and
Lacie Jessup tied for the team lead with 10 digs apiece.
- Both
Rylie Fuentes and
Gabriela Rosa passed out 18 assists.
- The Lions hit .139 in the match, while the TexAnns hit .273.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The TexAnns came out swinging in the first set, hitting for a .410 percentage on the way to a 25-18 set win. The Lions'
Daisge Smith hit .357 in the set, throwing down five errorless kills.
Tarleton went on a 6-of-7 run to go up 15-9 and led by as many as nine points at 20-11. The Lions won five of six points to force a TSU timeout and get within five points, but the hosts held on to win the opening set.
The Lions led early in the second set, as the TexAnns' hitting cooled off. The set was tied at 12-all before A&M-Commerce was blocked on three straight attempts to spark a TSU run.
Tarleton hit only .083 in the second set, but A&M-Commerce was limited to a .024 percentage with 11 kills and 10 errors as TSU won the second set, 25-17.
A&M-Commerce jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the third set with Norton throwing down three kills in the early going. A later 5-0 run by the home team would tie the set up at 17-17.
A Chassidy Hill service ace had the Lions in reach of the set at 21-20 before TSU scored four of the final five points to clinch the match. A&M-Commerce hit .219 in the set and had a pair of aces.
