STEPHENVILLE– The Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team picked up a three-set sweep of Maryville and a three-set loss to No. 23 Rockhurst on Saturday. The Lions set points in the first match were 25-15, 25-11 and 25-15 and 22-25, 22-25 and 22-25 in the second match.
 
The match results bring the Lions to 2-2 on the season, with both losses coming to top-25 ranked opponents.
 
The Lions return to action on Friday with a doubleheader as part of the 2017 Steel and Silver Classic. The Lions will face Wayne State (Neb.) at 4 p.m. and Colorado State-Pueblo at 8 p.m. Both matches will be played at Massari Arena in Pueblo, Colo. The Lions will then have two matchups on Saturday in Colorado Springs.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (Match 1)
- Jaslyn Wacker led the Lions with 12 kills, with an impressive .857 hitting percentage. She also had four digs and four blocks.
- Jaryn Wacker had eight kills and a block. Mariyah Oliver had five kills, including three in the third set. She also had two blocks.
- Gabriela Rosa led the team with 21 assists. She also had four digs.
- Rylie Fuentes had 13 assists, two aces and seven digs. Lacie Jessup led the team with 10 digs.
- Layne Little, Shelley Chapron, Sydney Reyes and Preston Lienemann all had multiple kills. Chapron also had two blocks.
- Neka Nelson, Savannah Rutledge and Payton McMillan each recorded a kill.
- The team hit .310, had six aces and six blocks.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED (Match 1)
The teams traded points early in the first set. Both teams had strong defensive fronts early in the match, recording several blocks. With A&M-Commerce trailing 6-5, the Lions then went on a rally. They scored five consecutive points to take a 10-6 lead. Jaslyn Wacker continued where she left off on Friday, placing down three consecutive kills as the Lions led 16-10 midway through the first set. The Lions continued to pull away late, taking an eight-point lead following a kill from each Wacker and from Chapron. Maryville had some late miscues in the set and the Lions won the first set 25-15. Jaslyn Wacker had five kills in the first set on five attacks.
 
Little opened up the second set with an ace and a kill and the Lions quickly gained a lead against Maryville. The Lions led 12-5 midway through the set. The Wacker sisters began to dominate, each recording back-to-back kills late in the set as the Lions pulled away. The Lions won the second set 25-11.
 
A&M-Commerce again started the third set well, scoring the first three points and six of the first eight points. Oliver had three quick kills in the set. The Saints climbed back into the set midway through, cutting the Lion lead to 14-12. The Lions responded, building the lead back up to five. A&M-Commerce closed the match out with a strong finish. They scored the final seven points to win the third and deciding set 25-15.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (Match 2)
- Nelson led the Lions with 10 kills and a hitting percentage of .450.
- Little finished with nine kills and three digs. Jaryn and Jaslyn Wacker each had six kills.
- Chapron and Oliver both had multiple kills while Rosa, Jessup and Lienemann all had one.
- Rosa led the team with 22 assists and had five digs. Fuentes had 16 assists and six digs. Jessup led the team with 16 digs.
- Fuentes had three consecutive aces in the second set. The Lions had six aces in the match.
- Errors hurt the Lions. They had 17 attack errors, five block errors and four service errors.

HOW IT HAPPENED (Match 2)
Nelson had two early kills for the Lions in the first set. The Hawks jumped to a three-point lead early but A&M-Commerce clawed back just as fast to tie the set up at seven. After Rockhurst again pushed their lead to three, this time it was Little who rallied the Lions, recording three-consecutive kills. Midway through the set, the Lions trailed 13-12.
 
Two attacking errors by the Lions let the Hawks push their lead to 18-13. The set started to get away from the Lions late in the set as the Hawks pushed their lead to six, the highest margin of the first set. The Lions kept fighting to stay in the set, with Chapron posting consecutive kills to cut the lead back down to three and prompting a timeout. Nelson then had three kills of her own late in the set to cut the lead to two but that is as close as the Lions could get. They fell 25-22 in the first set. Nelson led the team with five kills while Little had four.
 
A&M-Commerce continued their late momentum into the second set, taking an early advantage. Fuentes served three-consecutive aces as part of a six-point rally for the Lions, giving them their largest advantage of the match, a 10-3 lead. After a timeout, Rockhurst answered back, scoring eight of the next nine points to erase their deficit and tie the set at 11. The Lions held a 13-12 lead midway through the second set.
 
Attack errors started to hurt the Lions again as the Hawks took their first lead of the set, which they pushed to five, a 21-16 Lion deficit. A&M-Commerce fought back, cutting the lead to two. Jaslyn Wacker looked to rally the team, placing back-to-back kills into the hardwood. Little added a kill and the Lions trailed 22-20 late in the set. However, the Lion rally ran out of time and the Hawks won the second set 25-22.
 
The Lions again got off to a good start in the third set. Two service aces gave them an early 4-1 lead. The Hawks again rallied, quickly overcoming the deficit to take a 10-6 lead on a six-point rally. While the Lions started to score again, the Hawks continued to build their lead, pushing it to as many as seven in the set.

The Lions made a late push, scoring six points in a row. Jaryn Wacker had two kills and the Lion defense forced three hitting errors, cutting the lead to 23-22. However, the Lions could not complete the rally and lost the third set 25-22.