COMMERCE– The No. 17 Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team play three matches over the following three days. The Lions will play a neutral-site game against Southern Arkansas on Thursday before beginning their conference season on the road starting Friday.
 
WHO: No. 17 Texas A&M-Commerce (6-2) vs. Southern Arkansas (3-6)
WHERE: Berg Center in Dallas, Texas
WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 6 at 5 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Click HERE


WHO: No. 17 A&M-Commerce at Angelo State (7-3)
WHERE: Junell Center in San Angelo, Texas
WHEN: Friday, Sept. 7 at 7 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
LIVE VIDEO: Click HERE
 
WHO: No. 17 A&M-Commerce at No. 24 Tarleton State (6-2)
WHERE: Wisdom Gym in Stephenville, Texas
WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 8 at 2 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
LIVE VIDEO: Click HERE
 
The Lions are coming off of a historic weekend after defeating three top-10 ranked teams at the Colorado Premier Challenge. The Lions defeated the defending national champions in Concordia-St. Paul and also defeated Lewis and Regis, two other volleyball powerhouses. Lion volleyball coach Craig Case thought his team was able to pull out the victories by fighting as hard as they could.
 
"I thought we were competitive," Case said. "We fought really hard and we played really hard. That went a long way. I think we also caught some teams by surprise. Most of those teams had probably never heard of Commerce, Texas before, except for Metro and they got us.
 
"It was a fun weekend. I was really proud of how hard we played, how well we played and proud of the focus and competitiveness that we demonstrated out there."
 
The Lions' success drew the attention of the Division II volleyball coaching staffs, as they were voted into the top-25 rankings of the American Volleyball Coaches Association. While Case was ecstatic to see his team receive the recognition for a program that had not been nationally ranked since 1989, he also isn't hanging his hat on them. He knows at the end of the day, it's what happens between the lines of the court that decides matches.
 
"It is flattering and nice, but it is not going to win us any matches," Case said about the team's ranking. "It's a really positive thing and a validation to our team that all the things they have been doing, it is paying off. But now we have to focus on who we are playing next rather than focusing on what happened last week.
 
"It is flattering and is an exciting progress for our program. We want to keep that moving forward and put ourselves in position to be a championship team. Being nationally ranked certainly helps, but at the same time it draws a lot of attention. I'm hopeful that we will be ready to handle that target on our backs this weekend."
 
The Lions will play their first match as a nationally-ranked team against Southern Arkansas on a neutral court on Dallas Baptist's campus. Case knows his team is still not where he wants them to be and he knows the team needs to keep working hard to improve every day in practice and during every match they play.
 
"We have to keep getting better," he said. "The danger now is that teams now have film on us. In our first eight matches, no one has really been able to scout us. We have to keep getting better and keep making those small adjustments. That's the great thing about playing against really good volleyball teams is that you are forced to make those adjustments regularly.
 
"We are focused on going in this weekend, starting with Southern Arkansas tomorrow night, on focusing on the task at hand. We have to do what we need to do to play our best volleyball and keep moving that forward against every team we play."
 
The Lions will then begin their conference season with road matches against Angelo State and No. 24 Tarleton State, the two teams who have combined to win the last three LSC Championships. Both teams enjoy a home court advantage and Case is expecting their best from both opponents. He is excited to see his team get to face some of the best teams in the conference right off the bat.
 
"We will have our second and third real road matches," Case said. "Conference play is always a fun time. We love playing against Angelo. They are such a good team and have such a great crowd. And then you finish with them at 9 o'clock and then you jump on a bus and drive three and a half hours to Tarleton and at 2 p.m. the next day you are playing in a different but just as intense or even more intense environment. It is a fun road trip if you play good volleyball."