COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team picked up its second straight Lone Star Conference win on Friday evening with a 3-1 victory over Texas A&M University-Kingsville.
 
The Lions won by set scores of 25-23, 11-25, 25-23, 26-24 and move to 7-6 overall with an even 2-2 mark in LSC action. A&M-Kingsville is now 10-3 overall and 2-1 in the league.
 
A&M-Commerce hosts St. Edward's at 2 p.m. Saturday in non-conference action.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Lions found ways to grind out set wins despite the Javelinas outhitting them in terms of percentage. A&M-Commerce hit .203 in the match, while A&M-Kingsville hit .296.
- Daisge Smith led the Lions with 14 kills with a .308 hitting percentage and earned a double-double by adding 13 digs.
- Taryn Driver added 12 kills on a .346 hitting percentage, including five kills on five swings in the third set.
- Ashley Mireles had 20 digs. Rylie Fuentes passed out 28 assists, while Gabriela Rosa dished out 20 assists.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lions were on fire from the service line in the first set, with a stunning six service aces. A&M-Commerce raced out to a 6-1 lead, but the Javelinas came back to tie the set at 11-11.
 
A&M-Kingsville led 20-18 before the Lions went on a four-point run to turn the tables.  Lacie Jessup put an end to the 25-23 set win with an ace. Sydney Reyes had four kills in the set, while Neka Nelson and Smith had three kills apiece.
 
A Lion scoring drought in the second set allowed A&M-Kingsville to tie the match at a set apiece. The Javelinas scored 10 straight points and never allowed A&M-Commerce to get back within reach. The guests hit .379 in the set while A&M-Commerce hit minus-.031.
 
After the break, Smith hit .700 with eight kills in a back-and-forth set that saw the Lions collectively hit for a .406 mark. Neither team could pull away until late, when A&M-Commerce scored three of the last four points to win after a 22-22 tie. Layne Little had two kills in that late run.
 
The fourth set was a thriller down to very end, with 13 ties and seven lead changes.  Little and Driver had four kills apiece in the set, as the Lions hit a .200 mark.
 
A&M-Kingsville led 20-17 before the Lions rattled off four straight points, including a Driver kill and a Driver block. The Lions held match point at 24-23, but a narrow miss on an error tied the set up. An A&M-Kingsville service error followed by a Javelina attack error clinched the match for the Lions.