TYLER – The Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team suffered its first loss of the season on Tuesday night, falling in three sets at UT Tyler.
 
Set scores were 25-15, 25-12, 26-24. UT Tyler is now 5-0 on the year while A&M-Commerce is 2-1. (Box Score)
 
The Lions and Patriots will meet in the second match of the series at 6 p.m. Wednesday in UT Tyler's Louise Herrington Patriot Center.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Lions were limited to a .071 hitting percentage with 28 kills and 20 errors on 112 swings. UT Tyler hit .246 with 46 kills.
- Taryn Cast (Peaster) hit .700 with seven error-free kills on 10 swings. Nicki Gonelli (Round Rock – Stony Point) also had seven kills.
- Sydney Andersen (Placentia, Calif.) had six kills with 11 digs. Riley Davidson (Commerce) also had 11 digs. Celeste Vela (Guadalajara, Mexico) passed out 19 assists.
 
HEAD COACH CRAIG CASE AFTER THE MATCH
"UT Tyler did a really good job of attacking and keeping us off balance and out of system," said head coach Craig Case. "We knew what to expect and still couldn't get caught up. I tip my hat to them. I need to do a better job preparing our team to compete against some of the elite teams in our league."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The two teams played tightly for the first 18 points, with A&M-Commerce only trailing 10-8 before UT Tyler won five straight points and seven of the next eight. The Lions stemmed the tide with three straight points, but another five-point run by the Patriots put the set out of reach. TAMUC hit minus-.081 with six kills and nine errors in the first set.
 
The second set saw UT Tyler jump out to an early 7-2 lead. The lead was still at seven points at 16-9 when the Patriots scored five straight points, surging to the second set win at 25-12. UTT hit .382 in the set with only two errors, while the Lions hit .125 with only nine kills and five errors.
 
The Lions showed vigor in the third set after trailing 11-8. A&M-Commerce scored six straight points including a pair of service aces by Cast to make it 14-11. UT Tyler tied the set at 18-all before three straight Lion points gave A&M-Commerce a 21-18 lead. The Lions had two chances at set point after leading 24-22, but the Patriots closed the match on a four-point run to close out the home sweep.