COMMERCE– The Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team defeated No. 5 Angelo State in five sets on Friday night. After losing the first set, the Lions flipped the switch and won three of the final four sets to win the match. The set scores were 14-25, 25-20, 25-19, 20-25 and 15-13.
 
The win brings the Lions to 5-5 on the season and 1-0 in the Lone Star Conference. The Rambelles fall to 8-2 on the season and 0-1 in conference play.
 
The Lions get right back on the court on Saturday with another top-25 opponent in No. 14 Tarleton State. The match will be played at 2 p.m. at the Field House. The match will be part of the Lions' Hall of Fame week as program kill-leader Colleen Favaro will be inducted into the Lion Athletic Hall of Fame.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Layne Little led the Lions with 17 kills, with three coming in the final four Lion points of the deciding fifth set. She also had nine digs and an ace.
- Shelley Chapron had 12 kills with an impressive .667 hitting percentage. She also had five blocks.
- Jaryn Wacker had 13 kills. Jaslyn Wacker had six kills and led the team with seven blocks.
- Gabriela Rosa had 29 assists to lead the Lions. She also had 11 digs. Rylie Fuentes had 18 assists and eight digs. Savannah Rutledge led the team with 19 digs.
- Mariyah Oliver had four kills and two blocks. Neka Nelson had two kills and five blocks. Sydney Reyes also had a kill.
- Lacie Jessup had two aces and 15 digs. Fuentes and Chasiddy Hill also both had an ace.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lions fell behind early in the first set, losing six of the first seven points. After the Lions got some momentum going, ASU again rallied to take an 11-point lead in the set. The Lions got a rally going late, winning four of five points but it was not enough as ASU took the first set 25-14.
 
The second set was back and forth to start. Jaryn Wacker had back-to-back kills for the Lions. After falling behind by three, the Lions responded with a three-point rally of their own to tie the set at 6-all. Jaslyn Wacker also had back-to-back kills as the Lions took their first lead of the match, leading 8-7. The Lions again went on a run, scoring six points in a row. Chapron added two kills of her own during the Lions' 9-1 run. A&M-Commerce led 12-7 midway through the set.
 
Chapron hit well for the Lions in the second set out of the middle, recording four kills in a five-kill stretch. ASU began to climb back into the set, cutting the Lion lead down to just two points, 17-15. The Lions responded to score four of the next five points to build their lead back up to five points. The Rambelles cut the Lion lead back down to two before the Lions scored the final three point to win the second set 25-20.
 
The Lions fell behind in the third set before scoring four points in a row to take an early lead in the third set. Jaryn Wacker had three early kills as the Lions built an 8-5 lead. Midway through the third set, the Lions led 12-9.
 
The Rambelles began to rally, scoring four points in a row to take a 16-15 lead. After a timeout, the Lions regained their composure to score four points of their own to build their lead back up to three points. Little had two kills late in the set to keep the Lion momentum. The Lions took the third set 25-19.
 
The Lions scored the first two points of the fourth set but it was back and forth early with a 5-5 score. Little had two kills for the Lions in the early part of the set but both teams continued to trade points, with the score tied at 11.
 
The Rambelles started to rally midway through the set, taking a three-point lead. The Lions answered back. Chapron had two kills and a block to tie the set again at 17-all. ASU again began to rally and this time the Lions could not recover. ASU won the fourth set 25-20.
 
ASU took an early lead in the final set, leading 6-3 after a four-point rally. The Lions responded with a four-point rally of their own to take a 7-6 lead. ASU had three consecutive hitting errors. Hill came in for the Lions off the bench and provided a spark in her lone appearance of the night.
 
It was back and forth through the rest of the match as neither team would relent. ASU took a two-point lead before the Lions again rallied to tie the set at 12-all. The Lions took the lead on a kill from Little. Little had another kill to put the Lions one point away from the win. Hill served a rocket that bounced off the ASU defender to win the match for A&M-Commerce.