DENTON – The Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team opened the 2016 season with a pair of 3-1 victories, taking down Colorado State-Pueblo and Lubbock Christian in the first day of the Hilton Garden Inn Classic hosted by Texas Woman's.
 
The Lions (2-0) wrap up the tournament on Saturday with matches against Newman (9 a.m.) and Harding (4:30 p.m.).  Live stats links are available at LionAthletics.com.
 
TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE 3, COLORADO STATE-PUEBLO 1 (25-23, 25-17, 29-31, 25-23)
- Taryn Driver hit .268 with 15 kills to lead the Lions offensively.
- Daisge Smith had a double-double with 11 kills and 16 digs in her A&M-Commerce debut.
- Rylie Fuentes also had a double-double in her collegiate debut with 28 assists and 12 digs.
- Ashley Mireles had a team-best 21 digs and Sydney Reyes had a team-best five blocks to go with nine kills.
 
The opening match of the season was tight throughout with three of the four sets won by the minimum of two points.  CSU-Pueblo outhit the Lions in terms of percentage in the opening set, but A&M-Commerce followed five kills apiece by Reyes and Layne Little to a 25-23 set win.
 
A&M-Commerce won the second set by a 25-17 count, with Driver picking up four kills. The third set was a tight one with 20 ties and 12 lead changes before the Thunderwolves earned a 31-29 set win. The Lions hit only .088 in the third set.
 
Driver was on fire in the fourth set, with five errorless kills on nine attempts to lead A&M-Commerce to a 25-23 set win to clinch the match.
 
TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE 3, LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN 1 (25-22, 30-28, 25-27, 25-19)
- Driver once again led the squad in kills with 15, hitting .270 in the match.
- Reyes had 11 kills with a .474 hitting percentage and also put up six blocks, including two solos.
- Jaslyn Wacker had nine kills and eight blocks with three solos.
- Mireles had 22 digs. Setters Fuentes and Gabriela Rosa each passed out 21 assists.
- A&M-Commerce hit .130 in the match and held the Lady Chaparrals to a .105 percentage.
 
The Lions hit .242 in the opening set and edged the Lady Chaps 25-22. Smith had a pair of aces, while Little had four kills without an error. The second set went into extra points thanks in large part to five A&M-Commerce blocks, as the Lions took a 30-28 set win in spite of a .047 hitting clip in the frame.
 
LCU edged the Lions in the third set to keep the match alive by scoring the last three points on the way to a 27-25 set win.
 
A&M-Commerce had its biggest set victory margin in the fourth set with a 25-19 win. The Lions hit .158 and held Lubbock Christian to a minus-.030 clip. Driver, Little, and Reyes each had three kills in the set.