COMMERCE– The Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team got a 3-1 win over UT Permian Basin on Friday night. The teams split the first two sets before the Lions came out on fire in the third set and held on in the fourth set to get the win. The set scores were 25-19, 22-25, 25-9 and 25-22.
 
The win brings the Lions to 19-10 on the season and 14-5 in the Lone Star Conference. The Lions clinched second place in the conference standings with the win and surpassed their conference win total from last season. UTPB falls to 4-24 and 1-18 in the LSC.
 
The Lions finish the regular season with a home matchup against West Texas A&M on Saturday. The match will begin at 2 p.m. at the Field House. The match will also be part of Lion Champions Fund Senior Spike Day.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Shelley Chapron had 15 kills, hitting .542 in the match.
- Layne Little also had a strong hitting day, notching 15 kills with a .500 hitting percentage.
- Jaslyn Wacker had nine kills, eight blocks and six digs. She had two long outings as a server, serving 10 consecutive points in the third set and seven in the fourth.
- Rylie Fuentes led the team with 23 assists and added 10 digs. Gabriela Rosa had 19 assists, eight digs and had a kill.
- Lacie Jessup led the team with 13 digs while Savannah Rutledge had nine.
- Mariyah Oliver and Sydney Reyes both had seven kills. Jaryn Wacker had five while Neka Nelson had two.
- The Lions hit .302 in the match and had 10 block as a team. The Lions defense held UTPB to a .170 hitting percentage.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lions scored four points in a row early, including consecutive serving aces from Jessup to begin the match. UTPB answered back with six points in a row to take the lead back. The teams were tied at nine early. Little had consecutive kills as A&M-Commerce built its lead to 16-12 in the set. The Falcons took four of the next six points before the Lions closed out the set with a four-point rally to take the first set 25-19.
 
UTPB scored four of the first five points of the second set to take an early lead. The Lions cut into the lead and had a four-point rally to take a 12-10 lead midway through the set. UTPB committed multiple errors during the rally. Trailing by two, the Falcons then had a four-point rally of their own to take a 17-15 lead. The Lions answered back with four points in a row of their own. The Falcons ended the set well, scoring five in a row to take a lead. The Lions could not bounce back and lost the second set 25-22.
 
After an intermission period, the Lions came out on fire in the third set. They scored eight of the first nine points of the set, including multiple kills from Jaryn Wacker. The Lions held a 12-6 lead midway through the set. The Lions then went on another rally, scoring ten points in a row. Chapron had three kills in the rally while Little had two and the Lions held a commanding 22-6 lead. Rosa had a kill to end the third set with the score of 25-9.
 
The Falcons went on a big run to start the fourth set. After the team split the first two points, UTPB then scored seven points in a row to lead 8-1 early. The Lions cut into the lead, scoring three in a row. Trailing by six, the Lions went on another rally, scoring seven in a row to take their first lead of the set at 14-13. Little had three kills in the rally and Reyes had two.
 
The teams then battled back and forth, with the Lions holding their slim advantage. The Falcons would not lead again in the set however. Little had back-to-back kills late as the Lions scored four of the final five points of the set to win the set 25-22 and take the match in four.