DENTON– The No. 20 Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team defeated Texas Woman's in four sets on Saturday afternoon. The set scores were 22-25, 25-23, 25-15, and 25-19.
 
The win brings the Lions to 9-3 on the season, and 4-0 in the Lone Star Conference, including 2-0 in their division. The Pioneers fall to 6-7 overall and 2-2 in conference play.
 
The Lions return home on Tuesday to play a non-conference match against DBU. The match will begin at 6 p.m. at the Field House. The Lions will then play two more conference matches at home over the weekend.
 
Tickets to Lion Volleyball home matches can be purchased by visiting WeAreLionsTix.com, by calling (903) 468-8756, or by visiting the Lion Sales & Service Box Office inside the Field House during business hours.
 
HEAD COACH CRAIG CASE AFTER THE MATCH
- On getting the tough road win: "TWU is a super good team. They are one of the top blocking teams in the league. They really shut us down in the first set. We could not find ways to score. I was really pleased that our hitters kept trying to find ways to score and as the match went on, we got it going. To be able to beat a team that is as good as they are, on their home floor, that is exciting."
- On the team grinding to find their rhythm in the early sets: "I was really pleased with how hard our players competed, especially in the tense and important situations. We had 18 kills in that second set and 19 in the third set. Our offense kept grinding away until they found ways to score. Against a good team on the road, for your players to have the discipline and the determination to keep fighting like that, that's a good sign."
- On the offense production: "Offensively I thought Sydney [Andersen] and Shelley [Chapron] did a really good job of getting us going. In critical side out situations, we were able to get them the ball and they found ways to score. Shelley was also really good on defense and gave us a shot."
- On the defense: "Defensively, Savannah [Rutledge] and Dani [Santos] were really locked in. When they were in, they gave us a real shot to win. They kept a lot of rallies alive and kept things going for us. Without those four, we certainly would not have won today."
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Sydney Andersen (Placentia, Calif.) led the way with 16 kills for the Lion offense, hitting .393 in the match.
- Shelley Chapron (Houston – St. Pius X) had 12 kills, hitting .600 without an error in the match. She also led the team with four blocks.
- Bina Njikam (Keller) also finished in double-digits in kills with 10.
- Savannah Rutledge (The Woodlands – College Park) co-led the team with 13 digs. Riley Davidson (Commerce) also had 13 digs to go with eight kills.
- Celeste Vela (Guadalajara, Mexico) led the team with 25 assists, while also recording nine digs. Natalie Sarbeck (Cypress – Cy-Fair) added 18 assists.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was an even beginning to the first set until the Lions went on a 5-0 run at the midway mark to take a 14-11 lead. TWU answered back a 4-0 run, then a 5-0 run to take a 23-20 lead. The Lions fought to even the set but fell 25-22.

After splitting the first 10 points of the second set, the Lions got on a role, scoring six of the next seven points. The Lions were efficient in the set, tallying 18 kills. TWU made a late run to tie the set at 18-all before the Lions closed the set, winning 25-23.
 
After an even start to the third set left the Lions trailing 12-9, A&M-Commerce went crazy in the latter stages of the set, scoring 14 of the next 16 points, and 16 of the final 19 points in the set to win 25-15.
 
TWU was the team to get off to a fast start in the fourth set, scoring the first five points. The Lions battled back to tie the set at 12. A&M-Commerce took control of the set from there, finishing the set on a 16-7 run to win 25-19.