CANYON– The Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team got its sixth consecutive win on Friday night, defeating West Texas A&M in five sets. The set scores were 25-20, 23-25, 25-13, 22-25 and 15-11. The six-game winning streak ties the longest winning streak for the Lions under head coach Craig Case.
 
The win brings the Lions to 12-7 and 7-2 in the Lone Star Conference. It is the Lions' fifth consecutive conference win and fourth consecutive road win. The Lady Buffs fall to 11-9 and 5-5 in conference play.
 
The Lions face a quick turnaround with a road match against UT Permian Basin on Saturday. The match will begin at 1 p.m. at the UTPB Gymnasium in Odessa.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Jaryn Wacker led the team with 16 kills in the match, hitting .389 with just two errors.
- Mariyah Oliver had 15 kills, a season high. She hit .297 and also had three blocks.
- Layne Little had 12 kills, 14 digs and two blocks. Neka Nelson had 10 kills, including three in the deciding set.
- Savannah Rutledge was all over the court, tallying a career-high 32 digs. She also had five assists and an ace.
- Gabriela Rosa led the Lions with 31 assists and three aces. She also had 13 digs and a kill.
- Rylie Fuentes had 27 assists, nine digs and co-led the team with three aces.
- Jaslyn Wacker had six kills and four blocks. Shelley Chapron had five kills and five blocks.
- Lacie Jessup had 10 digs while Chasiddy Hill had three.
- The Lions had eight service aces.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lions got off to a good start in the first set, scoring five of the first seven points. An ace and two WT errors put the Lions in the lead. Nelson had two early kills. WT slowly chipped away at the Lion lead, cutting it to just 8-7 before the Lions rallied behind two kills from Oliver to lead 13-9 midway through.
 
WT then went on a run, scoring five of the next six points to take the lead. After trailing by two, the Lions finished out the first set well, scoring eight of the final nine points to take the first set 25-20. Oliver and Jaryn Wacker each had four kills in the first set.
 
The teams split the first six points before the Lions began a rally, scoring four points in a row and eight of nine points to build a 12-5 lead halfway through the set. Jaslyn Wacker had two kills and two blocks during the rally. WT answered right back, taking six points in a row to tie the match at 13.
 
From that point on, the teams began to trade points as neither team built a lead of more than two points. Nelson had two kills in a row to give the Lions a slim lead as the teams battled. It was WT who finally broke the trend and took the final three points to win the second set 25-23.
 
The Lions started out the third set well, scoring six of the first eight points. Oliver had three kills in a row for A&M-Commerce. WT rallied to cut the Lions lead to 9-8 before the Lion offense went off. Little began to catch fire, registering four kills in the set as the Lions went on a 12-2 run to blow open the set. Chapron had three kills and Jaryn Wacker had three kills in a row to end the set. The Lions took set three 25-13.
 
WT regrouped in the fourth set after the Lions jumped out to a 7-4 lead. Jaryn Wacker had two kills early in the set for A&M-Commerce. WT then went on a run, scoring six of the next seven points to take a 10-8 lead in the set. The Lions tied the score at 10 before WT scored four more points in a row to lead 14-10 halfway through the set.
 
Oliver had two kills for the Lions as they attempted to climb out of the hole. However, WT took its largest lead of the match, driving its lead up to seven points after consecutive aces. The Lions then began a rally of their own, scoring four points in a row to cut the lead to just three. Little had consecutive kills as the lead was cut to two points. However, the Lions could not finish the comeback and fell 25-22 to send the match to a deciding fifth set.
 
It was a hotly contested final set as neither team would falter early. The teams traded the first eight points. The Lions then took four of the next five points to build an 8-5 lead at the halfway mark, prompting a WT timeout. Five different Lions had kills in the set as the Lions built their lead to as many as six. WT fought back with three points in a row but the Lions held on and won the fifth set 15-11, winning the match.