ODESSA– The No. 21 Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team defeated UT Permian Basin in five sets on Friday night. The Lions won the second, third and fifth sets. The set scores were 22-25, 25-14, 25-22, 23-25, 15-9.
 
The win brings the Lions to 13-4 on the season and 5-2 in the Lone Star Conference. The Falcons fall to 9-7 and 4-4 in conference play.
 
The Lions return to the court on Saturday with a road match against Western New Mexico. The match will be played at 6 p.m. MDT (7 p.m. CDT) at Drag's Court in Silver City.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Lions had five players end the match with double-digit kills. Jaryn Wacker (Austin-Vista Ridge) led the team with 14 kills, including six in the third set.
- Bina Njikam (Keller) had 13 kills. Jaslyn Wacker (Austin-Vista Ridge), Celeste Vela (Guadalajara, Mexico) and Shelley Chapron (Houston-St. Pius X) each had 12 kills. Vela came one dig shy of a triple-double.
- Chapron had four blocks while Njikam had three.
- Savannah Rutledge (The Woodlands - College Park) led the team with 20 digs. Daniela Santos had 15.
- Rylie Fuentes (Robinson) had 31 assists while Vela added 26.
- The Lions hit .274 in the match and held UTPB to a .168 average. The Lions had 72 kills while the Falcons had 44.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first set was evenly matched to start, as the teams were tied 13-all midway through the first set. The teams continued to battle as the set was again tied at 18. UTPB went on a run to end the set, winning 25-22. UTPB hit .310 in the set while the Lions hit .158. Vela and Jaslyn Wacker each had four kills in the set.
 
The Lion attack caught fire in the second set. Vela had two early kills as the Lions jumped out to a 4-1 lead. UTPB pulled back to within one point before a 5-0 run brought the Lion lead to six points. Njikam had three kills in the rally. The Lions ended the set on a 6-1 run to take the set 25-14. Njikam had four kills in the set to lead the Lions. Vela and Jaryn Wacker both had three.
 
The third set was again a back-and-forth affair, as the teams were tied at 12 at the midway mark. The Falcons went on a mini run to take a three-point lead at 19-16 before the Lions roared back. Jaryn Wacker had three late kills as the Lions took the lead for good. The Lions won the third set 25-22. Jaryn Wacker had six kills in the set in 10 attacks.
 
UTPB took the early advantage in the fourth set, building a seven-point lead. It was a lead the Falcons would hold until a late Lion rally brought the match within one point. However, the Falcons got the point they needed to win the set 25-23. Njikam had five kills in the set.
 
The teams split the first eight points of the final set before UTPB went on a run to take a two-point lead. The Lions found a spark to close as the team scored 10 of the final 12 points to win the set and the match. Madison Luther had three kills in the final set to lead the team.