WICHITA FALLS– The No. 20 Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team defeated Midwestern State 3-1 on Friday night. After falling in the first set, the Lions took the next three sets to win the match. The set scores were 22-25, 25-18, 26-24, and 25-20.
 
The win brings the Lions to 8-3 on the season and 3-0 in the Lone Star Conference. It is also the Lions' first divisional win, as they are now 1-0 in their division. MSU Texas falls to 2-9 and 0-3 in conference play.
 
The Lions return to action on Saturday at Noon as they travel to face Texas Woman's. The match will be played at Kitty Magee Arena in Denton.
 
HEAD COACH CRAIG CASE AFTER THE MATCH
- Team responding after losing first set: "In that first set, Midwestern played at a really high level and while I think we did a pretty good job of preparing for it, you are never fully prepared until you see them in person. I think getting through that first set and being able to regroup and identify the things that they were doing well that we wanted to slow down, and also start working on getting things done on our side of the net. That's where we started getting going in that second set."
- On weathering adversity in both the third and fourth sets after establishing big leads: "It's difficult to win college volleyball matches, especially on the road. And it is extremely difficult to win Lone Star Conference matches on the road. The reason we were able to weather those storms was that we expect them to make those runs and come back. The thing that was really good about it is was that when those runs occurred, we were able to execute tactically. We were able to win those points by executing at a high level and playing good volleyball. That was the positive takeaway from our team tonight. Even though they had all the momentum and probably played better than us, in those crucial moments, we were able to focus and execute at a high level to give us an opportunity to win those sets."
- On getting good play from Destiny Greenwood: "I thought she did a really good job. We were pleased with the production and contribution she was able to make tonight. The exciting thing is she is coming out of the match knowing what she can do better and we are walking out of this match hoping she will continue to get better and get after it and produce at a high level. If we have her producing at a high level, we are going to be in very good shape in the middle."
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Sydney Andersen (Placentia, Calif.) led the team with 16 kills, hitting .361 in the match.
- Bina Njikam (Keller) added 11 kills while Nicki Gonelli (Round Rock – Stony Point) had 10 kills, tying her career high.
- Destiny Greenwood (Fairfield, Calif.) had nine kills and led the team with seven blocks. She hit .368 in the match.
- Riley Davidson (Commerce) led the team with 17 digs, while Savannah Rutledge (The Woodlands – College Park) had 13 digs and Daniela Santos (Caracas, Venezuela) had 12.
- Celeste Vela (Guadalajara, Mexico) led the team with 28 assists, and had a double-double with 12 digs. Natalie Sarbeck (Cypress – Cy-Fair) had 22 assists.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
It was an even start to the first set, as neither team took more than two points in a row to start, with the match tied at 10-all. MSU Texas then went on a run, scoring five points in a row to take a lead. The Lions began to battle back, including two kill from Njikam to score five points in a row, tying the set at 16. The Mustangs responded with a run of their own and took the set 25-22.
 
The Lions got things going in the second set, getting out to an early lead. Holding the Mustangs under .100 hitting for much of the set, the Lion attack was also effective, hitting .353. The Lions had two large rallies in the set, including a 5-0 rally to give the Lions a seven-point lead. A&M-Commerce led by as many as nine in the set, winning 25-18. Andersen and Njikam each had five kills in the set.
 
The Lions got off to a strong start in the third set, taking the first four points. Vela had consecutive aces as the Lions again went on a 6-0 run to lead 14-5 at the halfway mark. The Lions pushed their lead to 18-9 before the Mustangs climbed back, scoring nine of the next 10 points to cut the Lion lead to one. Another MSU rally put them ahead 24-22 before A&M-Commerce took the final four points to win the set 26-24. Gonelli led the team with four kills in the set, while the Mustangs were held to a .105 hitting percentage.
 
The Lions again got off to a good start in the fourth set, scoring five points in a row to take an early 7-3 lead. The Mustangs fought back to cut the Lion lead to one point. After taking four of the next five points, the Lions slowly pulled away, winning the set 25-20. Andersen and Gonelli each had four kills in the final frame.