STEPHENVILLE– The No. 22 Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team defeated UT Permian Basin 3-1 on Thursday in the quarterfinal round of the Lone Star Conference Tournament. The Lions fell in the first set but rallied to win the next three. The set scores were 20-25, 25-13, 25-21 and 25-19.
 
The win brings the Lions to 26-5 on the season and they advance to the semifinal round of the LSC Tournament. The Falcons fall to 14-16 on the year and are eliminated.
 
The second-seeded Lions will now face sixth-seed Texas A&M-Kingsville in the semifinal round on Friday at 5 p.m. The Lions swept the season series against the Javelinas, sweeping them in Commerce and winning in four sets in Kingsville. The match will be played at Wisdom Gym in Stephenville.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Lions hit .288 in the match and held UTPB to a .195 hitting percentage. The Lions had 67 kills in the match on 62 assists.
- Jaryn Wacker (Austin – Vista Ridge) led the team with 18 kills, hitting .333 in the match.
- Celeste Vela (Guadalajara, Mexico) nearly posted a triple-double. She had 14 kills, 22 assists and eight digs and also had three aces and three blocks.
- Shelley Chapron (Houston – St. Pius X) totaled 11 kills while Bina Njikam (Keller) had 10 kills while hitting .471.
- Jaslyn Wacker (Austin – Vista Ridge) and Madison Luther (Sealy) both had seven kills.
- Rylie Fuentes (Robinson) led the team with 36 assists, tying a season-high. She also had 10 digs. Savannah Rutledge (The Woodlands – College Park) led the team with 16 digs.
- Daniela Santos (Caracas, Venezuela) had nine digs while Riley Davidson (Commerce) had three aces.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lions got off to a hot start, scoring five of the first six points of the match. Jaryn Wacker had three early kills in the rally. The teams began to then trade points, with the Lions maintaining their lead between two and four points. That changed to finish the set as UTPB caught fire. Trailing 20-18, the Falcons scored the final seven points of the frame to take the first set 25-20. Jaryn Wacker had six kills in the set.
 
The Lions quickly jumped out to a lead in the second set, recording a 12-1 run to take a 10-point lead. Vela had two kills and three service aces as part of the rally. The Lions went on another 5-1 run to push their lead to 12 points. The Lions won the set 25-13. Jaryn Wacker and Vela each had four kills in the set.
 
The Lions again got off to a hot start, taking the first three points of the third set. The Falcons rallied back to within one before another Lion run pushed the lead to 12-6 at the midway mark of the set. The Falcons battled back to get within one point late. However, the Lions then scored five points in a row to put the set out of reach. A&M-Commerce won the third set 25-21.  Jaryn Wacker and Vela both had five kills in the set.
 
The Lions again came out firing in the fourth set, taking six of the first seven points. The Lions led 13-7 at the midway point of the set. The Falcons battled back to within three before A&M-Commerce took four points in a row to build their largest lead of the set. The Falcons attempted to fight back but A&M-Commerce shut them down, winning five of the final seven points to win the set 25-19. Vela and Njikam both had four kills in the final set.