STEPHENVILLE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team opened up the 2018 season with a split of two matches at the Tarleton Invitational on Friday, dropping the opener to Harding before sweeping Black Hills State.
 
The Lions (1-1) will play two more matches at the Invitational on Saturday, taking on No. 18 Central Oklahoma (1-1) at 11:30 a.m. and Oklahoma Baptist (2-0) at 4:30 p.m.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (Harding)
- The Lions hit .189 in the match with 66 total kills. They started the match off hot with a .429 percentage and 19 kills in the first set.
- Jaslyn Wacker (Austin – Vista Ridge) had the year's first double-double, throwing down a team-high 16 kills and chipping in on 10 total blocks.
- Shelley Chapron (Houston – St. Pius X) had 15 kills and was in on seven block. Bina Njikam (Keller) had 14 kills and also had seven blocks. Jaryn Wacker (Austin – Vista Ridge) had 10 kills.
- Savannah Rutledge (The Woodlands – College Park) had a team-best 28 digs, while newcomer Daniela Santos (Caracas, Venezuela) had 24 digs.
- Rylie Fuentes (Robinson) earned a double-double with a team-high 31 assists and 12 digs, while Carolina Machado (Sao Paulo, Brazil) also had a double-double with 17 assists and 10 digs. Riley Davidson (Commerce) had 11 digs.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lions started the season off with a roar, scoring six of the first seven points in the match, with Chapron throwing down kills on three of those points. The Bisons worked their way into the lead and were up 12-9 when the Lions punched the gas and scored five straight to regain the lead. Njikam had three kills in key moments down the stretch to put the Lions in a commanding position Chapron hammered down the final two points with kills and the Lions claimed a 25-19 set victory. A&M-Commerce scored 19 points on kills in the set.
 
The second set didn't see either team pull away until a five-point Harding surge put the Bisons up 11-6 to force an A&M-Commerce timeout. The Lions could not close the margin to fewer than three points until the dying stages of the frame, but Harding's 25-22 set win tied the match at one set apiece.
 
A&M-Commerce used a mid-set surge on Santos' serve to pull away in the third set. Four straight kills and a service ace allowed the Lions to pull out to a 16-11 lead. The Bisons closed to within three points before the Lions stonewalled them with blocks on consecutive points to stretch the lead back out to six points. A&M-Commerce would go up 2-1 with the 25-17 set win.
 
A late run in the fourth set put the Lions in a position to close out the match before Harding edged its way back into contention. A&M-Commerce had match point on five occasions, but net violations and attack errors handed Harding a 27-25 set win, sending the match to a fifth set.
 
Harding used that momentum to jump out to a 5-1 lead in the fifth set, but the resilient Lions did not waver. A block by Jaslyn Wacker and Chapron tied the set at 12-12, setting up a tense few final moments. Oliver and Jaslyn Wacker teamed up for a block on Harding's first match point to tie the set at 14-all. The Lions fought off three Harding match points, but the Bisons scored the final two points to close out the comeback, 17-15.

NSIDE THE BOX SCORE (Game 2)
- Jaslyn Wacker led the Lions with 11 kills in the match, hitting .429. She also had two blocks.
- Madison Luther made her debut in the match and had 10 kills with a .563 hitting percentage. She also had a block and two digs.
- Bina Njikam added eight kills. Shelley Chapron led the team with three blocks and added six kills.
- Rylie Fuentes had 19 assists while fellow setter Celeste Vela tallied 17.
- Savannah Rutledge led the defensive charge, recording 12 digs. Vela had nine digs and Daniela Santos also had nine digs.
- The Lion hitters turned it into hyperdrive in the third set, hitting a blazing .615 to conclude the sweep. Five Lions hit better than .300 in the match.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED (Game 2)
After giving up the first point of the match, the Lions anssered back with four consecutive points to take an early. Vela had both a kill and an ace to bring the Lions' lead to 6-2 before the Yellow Jackets scored four of the next five points to cut the Lion lead to one point. 
 
The Lions then took command of the set. Njikam had a three kills during the Lions' 7-1 run that put them ahead 14-8 midway through the set. Luther recorded three kills late in the set as the Lions took set one 25-21.
 
The Lions took a 4-1 lead early in the second set before BHSU scored three points in a row to tie the game early on. The Lions benefitted from a few Yellow Jacket errors as they went on another small run, driving their lead to five points at the midway mark of the set.
 
After BHSU cut the Lion lead to one at 17-16, the Lions went on a big rally to end the set. Wacker had three kills late in the Lions' 8-2 run and A&M-Commerce won the second set 25-18.
 
The Lions came out firing in the third set, scoring seven of the first eight points. Back-to-back kills from Wacker pushed the Lion lead to 11-4 near the midpoint of the set. The Lions continued to play well in the set, never giving the Yellow Jackets a glimmer of hope to get back in. An ace from Riley Davidson sealed the 25-14 third-set win, and sealed the three-set sweep.