COMMERCE – The No. 25 Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team closed a five-match homestand with a sweep of MSU Texas, as the Lions earned their fifth straight victory. Set scores were 25-19, 25-20, and 25-20.
 
With the win, the Lions are now 12-4 overall and 4-2 in the Lone Star Conference, while the Mustangs fall to 2-12 overall and 0-6 in league play. The Lions have won 18 consecutive matches in the Field House, dating back to 2016.
 
A&M-Commerce will head west for a LSC road swing next weekend, taking on UT Permian Basin at 5 p.m. Friday in Odessa, then playing at 6 p.m. MDT on Saturday, September 29, against Western New Mexico.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Lion offense was powerful once again, out-hitting MSU Texas by a .296 to .098 margin. The Lions had 45 kills to the Mustangs' 30.
- Jaryn Wacker (Austin – Vista Ridge) had 12 kills on only 21 swings with a .429 hitting percentage.
- Shelley Chapron (Houston – St. Pius X) has a power at the net with eight blocks and seven kills.
- Celeste Vela (Guadalajara, Mexico) had another excellent all-around performance, putting down nine kills, passing out 16 assists, earning five digs, and chipping in on two blocks.
- Carolina Machado (Sao Paulo, Brazil) passed out 21 assists and Riley Davidson (Commerce) had a match-high 11 digs.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The opening set took a few points to develop as neither side was able to pull ahead early. The Lions were leading 10-9 before surging for seven of the next eight points. Chapron was on serve as the Lions forced a Mustang timeout at 17-10. MSU Texas was unable to recover during the set, as the A&M-Commerce lead never got below five points. The Lions hit .286 in the set and Jaryn Wacker had five error-free kills in the frame.
 
Midwestern led for the early stretches of the second set, but the Lions eliminated an early four-point deficit with a big run in the middle of the set. A&M-Commerce scored six out of seven points to flip the frame into the Lions' favor at 15-11. The Lions extended the lead to as many as six before MSU Texas narrowed the deficit to 23-20. Bina Njikam (Keller) and Vela closed out the set with consecutive kills to snuff the MSU rally. The Lions hit .235 in the set, as Jaslyn Wacker had four errorless kills and the Lions put up four blocks.
 
The Lions took that momentum and jumped out to an early lead in the clinching set. A&M-Commerce scored the first four points of the set and never trailed. The lead never shrank below three points, even during a late Mustang run, and Vela hammered home a kill to close the Lions' second straight LSC sweep. The Lions hit a fantastic .379 in the set, with Vela and Jaryn Wacker each throwing down five kills without an error.