COMMERCE– The Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team got a 3-2 win over Midwestern State on Tuesday. The Lions fell behind 2-1 but rallied to win the final two sets. The set scores were 21-25, 25-18, 14-25, 25-21 and 15-13. It is the eighth consecutive win for A&M-Commerce.
 
The win brings the Lions to 14-7 and 9-2 in the Lone Star Conference. The Mustangs fall to 9-11 and 3-8 in conference play.
 
The Lions return to the road for back-to-back matches against ranked conference opponents. They will face No. 22 Angelo State on Friday at 7 p.m. and No. 13 Tarleton State at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The Lions defeated both ASU and TSU at home earlier in the season.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Layne Little led the team with 13 kills. She also had 12 digs and two blocks.
- Mariyah Oliver had 11 kills and two block.
- Jaslyn Wacker had six kills and led the team with 10 assisted blocks. She also had two aces.
- Rylie Fuentes had 15 assists and co-led the team with 18 digs. She also had an ace.
- Gabriela Rosa led the team with 21 assists and added nine digs.
- Savannah Rutledge had 18 digs and had two service aces and three assists.
- Jaryn Wacker had nine kills. Shelley Chapron had three kills, Neka Nelson had two kills and Sydney Reyes and Preston Lienemann both had a kill.
- Lacie Jessup had 10 digs and two aces.
- The Lions had seven aces and won the match despite having a lower hitting percentage.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lions scored the first two points of the match before MSU scored seven points in a row to jump out to an early lead in the first set. Trailing by five midway through the set, the Lions went on a four-point run, with two kills from Jaryn Wacker to cut into the MSU lead. It was part of a 7-1 run that gave A&M-Commerce the 17-16 lead. It was back and forth until the Mustangs scored the final five points of the set, winning 25-21.
 
It was a back-and-forth start to the second set as the teams split the first 10 points. The Lions then went on a run, scoring five points in a row, including a block and a kill from Jaslyn Wacker. After two MSU points, Jaslyn had back-to-back aces to give A&M-Commerce a 13-8 lead at the halfway point of the second set.
 
Oliver had consecutive kills as the Lions maintained their lead. The team then went on a run, scoring five points in a row to take its largest lead of the set, 21-13. MSU attempted to climb back in, but the Lions closed the door and took the second set 25-18. Oliver had four kills in the set.
 
After splitting the first six points of the third set, MSU then took eight points in a row to take control of the third set. The Mustangs had four aces in five points as part of the rally. MSU built its lead to as many as 12 points in the set and won 25-14.
 
After splitting the first points of the fourth set, the Lions jumped out to a lead, scoring four points in a five-point stretch. The Lions led 10-6. That lead was short-lived as MSU rallied back to score four in a row to tie the match. Midway through the set, the Lions held a slim 13-12 lead.
 
The Lions then scored four in a row of their own to take an 18-14 lead. The Mustangs fought back to cut the lead to one point. Little had her best set of the match, recording six kills as she propelled the team forward. The Lions scored the final three points of the set to win 25-21.
 
After losing the first point of the deciding set, MSU then scored four points in a row to take an early lead in the fifth set. The Lions then had three points in a row to tie the set at 4-all. It was a back and forth battle as the teams traded blows. It was tied at 11-all near the end after three consecutive MSU points.
 
The Lions would not be denied however. After falling behind 13-12, they scored the final three points of the set, clinching both the set and the match. Oliver had four kills in the set, including the final kill as the Lions took the fifth set 15-13 and won its eighth-consecutive match.