COMMERCE – In a battle of teams that entered the day with similar Lone Star Conference records, the Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team drubbed the Dallas Baptist University Patriots, 3-0 in one hour 16 minutes on Friday night, as part of Dig Pink Night at the Field House.
 
The Lions rallied to take the first set, 25-21, also won the second set with the same score, and clinched the match with a 25-18 win in the third set. A&M-Commerce has won nine of its last 10 conference matches and holds a record of 9-4 with four matches remaining. The Patriots are 10-5 overall and 7-5 in conference play.
 
A&M-Commerce hit .270 in the match against DBU, that was allowing opponents to hit .177 coming into the match and restricted the Patriots to hit .106 in the match. The Lions had 13 total blocks in the match, with Maiya Dickie (Huntsville) having one solo and six assisted, Taryn Cast (Peaster) had two solo and three assisted, and Nicki Gonelli (Round Rock – Stony Point) had four assisted.
 
Celeste Vela (Guadalajara, Mexico) continued her LSC-leading pace of over 10 assists per set, she had 31 on Friday night. Lyric Hebert (Arvada, Colo.) had 12 digs, Riley Davidson (Commerce) had eight, and Essence Allen (Longview – Tatum) had seven.
 
The Lions served exceptionally well all match, serving to a percentage of .918, and had nine aces. Aislynn Shore (Hockley – Frassati Catholic) had four aces, Cast had two.
 
Offensively, Maddy Rashford (Placentia, Calif.) had 11 kills, Allen had nine, and Gonelli had six.
 
The Patriots jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the first set, the Lions won seven of the next nine to tie it at eight on an attacking error by DBU. Trailing 13-12 in the first set, the Lions won seven of the next eight to take a 19-14 lead on back-to-back aces by Shore.
 
DBU tied it at 19, but a kill by Allen gave the Lions a 20-19 lead and they won five of the next seven points to win the set, 25-21 on a kill by Rashford.
 
In the second set, the Lions had the early edge, leading 6-4 on a kill by Allen, and stayed in the front till 16-14 on a kill by Dickie. DBU won the next four points to lead 18-16.
 
Following a timeout called by coach Craig Case, the Lions tied it at 18 and took a 21-19 lead on a block by Cast, forcing DBU to use one of its timeouts. A&M-Commerce won two of the next three points and closed out the set, 25-21, on a kill by Allen.
 
The Lions started the third set on a 4-0 run, but quickly trailed 9-5 in the set. A block by Rashford tied the match back up at 10, but they fell behind again, losing 14-11.
 
A kill by Rashford started a 7-0 run for the Lions to take a 18-14 lead on a kill by Sydney Andersen (Placentia, Calif.). DBU won the next three points to pull to within one, but the Lions lost just one point for the rest of the match and clinched their ninth conference win on a kill by Reese Fetty (Farmersville).
 
With four matches left in the conference schedule for the Lions, they stand in sixth place. Two of the remaining four matches are against top five teams in the standings.



POSTGAME INTERVIEW 
 
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A&M-Commerce welcomes the Pioneers of Texas Woman's University to the Field House on Saturday at 1 p.m.