DENVER– The Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team picked up a win and a loss in their first day of action at the Colorado Premier Challenge. The Lions defeated the reigning national champion and No. 2-ranked Concordia-St. Paul in five sets (18-25, 25-20, 25-21, 15-25, 15-13). They then fell to the host school Metro State in four sets (20-25, 27-25, 13-25, 19-25).
 
The results bring the Lions' record to 4-2 on the season.
 
The Lions await their opponents on Saturday. The complete schedule for the Colorado Premier Challenge will be announced shortly.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (Concordia-St. Paul)
- The match statistics were nearly even in all categories. The Lions hit .255 while CSP hit .270. The teams had the same number of blocks and neither team dominated in any single category.
- The Lions got contributions from all across the lineup as 12 players recorded kills in the match. 11 players recorded digs and seven had at least one block.
- Jaslyn Wacker (Austin - Vista Ridge) led the attack with 10 kills. Madison Luther (Sealy) had nine kills and hit .500.
- Nicole Gonelli (Round Rock - Stony Point) had eight kills and hit .545. Bina Njikam (Keller) also had seven kills.
- Rylie Fuentes (Robinson) had 26 assists while Carolina Machado (Sao Paulo, Brazil) had 18 to go along with two aces.
- Njikam had six blocks, Wacker had three and Daniela Santos (Caracas, Venezuela) had two.
- It is the second consecutive season that the Lions have defeated a top-5 ranked opponent.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lions scored the first two points of the match and the teams battled back and forth early, with the score tied at 5-5. The Golden Bears then slowly started to build a lead. After a few attack errors in a row from the Lions, CSP built its lead to four points midway through the set. The Lions battled back to cut the lead to two points but could not complete the comeback, with CSP taking the first set 25-18.
 
CSP took an early lead in the second set before the Lions battled back. Wacker had multiple kills early in the set and contributed blocks as well as the Lion defense forced multiple Golden Bear attack errors. The Lions led 13-11 at the halfway mark of the set. Two Lion service aces also aided the cause as A&M-Commerce built a four-point lead. A kill by Santos and two attack errors from CSP allowed the Lions to build their lead to seven points late in the second set. The Lions won the second set 25-20. The Lions hit .312 in the set and held the Golden Bears to a .156 average. Six different Lions recorded kills in the set.
 
Shelley Chapron (Houston - St. Pius X) had two early kills in the third set as the Lions got out to a 6-2 lead early. After CSP battled back to within two points, the Lions went on a 5-0 run to take a 11-5 lead near the halfway point of the third set. The Lions continued to apply pressure, building their lead to nine points. After CSP cut the lead to seven, the Lions went on another run, scoring four points in a row to take an 11-point lead. CSP attack errors helped the A&M-Commerce cause. Trailing 24-14, the Golden Bears scored seven points in a row but the Lions got the point they needed, winning the set 25-21. The Lion attack hit .400 in the third set, while holding CSP's attack to .200.
 
The Golden Bears scored the first two points of the fourth set before the Lions scored four in a row to take the lead, including two kills from Luther. CSP answered back with a run of their own, taking a three-point lead. The Golden Bears built their lead to six points midway through the set and led by as many as 10 as A&M-Commerce could not gain momentum in the set. CSP won the set 25-15, hitting .556.
 
A&M-Commerce got off to a good start in the final set, building an early 6-2 lead. Gonelli had two early kills in the rally. Midway through, CSP battled back to cut the Lion lead to just one point. The Lions did not falter, never losing the lead in the final set. They won the set 15-13, winning the match in five.
 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (Metro State)
- The Lion attack struggled, recording a .092 hitting percentage in the match. MSUD hit .232.
- The Roadrunners had seven aces in the match.
- Jaslyn Wacker led the team with 11 kills and also led the team with five blocks.
- Shelley Chapron had eight kills, hitting .438. She also had four blocks.
- Celeste Vela (Guadalajara, Mexico) had seven kills, 14 assists and five digs. Madison Luther also had seven kills.
- Rylie Fuentes led the team with 16 assists. Savannah Rutledge (The Woodlands - College Park) led the team with 16 digs.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The teams battled back-and-forth in the early stages of the first set, splitting the first 14 points. The Roadrunners then took three points in a row to establish a lead. Midway through the set, MSUD held a 13-11 lead. They then scored five points in a row to take a seven-point advantage. The Lions could not climb back in and lost the first set 25-20.
 
A&M-Commerce scored five of the first six points of the second set, with MSUD registering four consecutive attack errors. The Roadrunners began to battle back, tying the set at 13 midway through. The Lions then scored six points in a row to take a 19-13 lead. MSUD fought back again, tying the match at 23 and forcing extra points. After trailing 25-24, the Lions scored the final three points of the set. Vela and Chapron both had kills and the Lions won the second set 27-25.
 
The Roadrunners got off to a fast start in the third set, scoring five of the first six points. After the teams traded points for multiple series, the Roadrunners began to add to their lead, scoring seven points in a row to take a double-digit advantage. The Lions could not recover and lost the third set 25-13.
 
The Lions scored six of the first eight points of the fourth set, taking a four-point lead early. MSUD battled back to tie the match at seven-all. The teams then traded points, staying tied at every turn until the match was tied at 14-all. The Roadrunners then went on a run, scoring four points in a row. The Lions battled back to cut the MSUD lead to just one point but the Roadrunners scored six of the final seven points of the set to clinch the match with a 25-19 set win.