COMMERCE– The Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team is kicking off the second half of Southland Conference play this week at Lamar on Thursday and welcomes McNeese on Senior Day this Saturday.
LIONS WEEKEND SCHEDULE
SENIOR DAY
Before Saturday's match, the Lions will honor their six graduating seniors,
Ashley Pennington (Frisco – Liberty),
Celeste Vela (Guadalajara, Mexico),
Kayla Lucas (Colorado Springs, Colo.),
Lyric Hebert (Arvada, Colo.),
Maddy Rashford (Placentia, Calif.), and
Taryn Cast (Peaster).
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE LIONS
Last week, the Lions finished 3-0, collecting wins over Tarleton, Southeastern Louisiana, and Northwestern State. In the match against their rival at Tarleton, the Lions took the Texans to five sets with scores of 20-25, 25-17, 18-25, 27-25, and 15-7, in favor of the Lions. Returning home, the Lions downed SLC-leading Southeastern, 3-0, with set scores of 26-24 in the first set and 25-18 in the second and third set each. The Lions defeated Northwestern State, 3-1, with set scores of 25-9, 25-23, 22-25, and 25-12, for the Lions fourth-straight win. With these wins, the Lions improve to 9-14 on the season and 5-4 in Southland Conference play.
Celeste Vela (Guadalajara, Mexico) recorded two double-doubles in two matches last week starting with a double-double with 38 assists and 13 digs, also serving up two aces against Tarleton. She achieved her second double-double with 37 assists and 17 digs against Northwestern State.
Essence Allen (Longview – Tatum) also recorded a double-double against Northwestern State with 20 kills, 14 digs, and three service aces, breaking her season-high in all three areas.
Lyric Hebert (Arvada, Colo.) was the third Lion to produce a double-double with 27 digs and 14 assists, along with four aces, against Northwestern State.
WHAT'S AHEAD FOR THE LIONS
A&M-Commerce hits the road to compete at A&M-Corpus Christi on Thursday, October 27, and at Incarnate Word on Saturday, October 29.
HEBERT MAKES HISTORY
Hebert has earned this week's Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week award on Monday afternoon, becoming the first player in program history to earn SLC Player of the Week honors.
2022 Southland Volleyball Players of the Week
| Date |
Offensive |
Defensive |
| Aug. 29 |
Cicily Hidalgo, Southeastern |
Reaghan Thompson, Northwestern State |
| Sept. 5 |
Kailin Newsome, Southeastern |
Bailey Tillman, McNeese |
| Sept. 12 |
Sophia Ewalefo, New Orleans |
Ansley Tullis, Southeastern |
| Sept. 19 |
Kailin Newsome, Southeastern (2) |
Ashlyn Svoboda, Northwestern State |
| Sept. 26 |
Breanna Burrell, Northwestern State |
Symone Wesley, Northwestern State |
| Oct. 3 |
Kyndal Payne, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
Carissa Barnes, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
| Oct. 10 |
Sophia Ewalefo, New Orleans (2) |
Sheilah Purcell, New Orleans |
| Oct. 17 |
Kyndal Payne, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (2) |
Lyric Hebert, A&M-Commerce |
LIONS SWEEP PANTHERS FOR FIRST DIVISION I WIN
A&M-Commerce picked up its first win in the Division I era on September 6 at Prairie View A&M in three sets. This win also snapped a six-match losing streak to start the season and it was A&M-Commerce's first win over a Division I opponent in athletic department history.
A LOOK AT THE SLC STANDINGS
The Lions are 9-14 on the season and 5-4 in conference and are currently in a four-way tie for fourth place with Southeastern, Northwestern State, and New Orleans. HCU and A&M-Corpus Christi are tied for first place sitting at 7-2 in conference, while McNeese sits in third with 6-3.
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Lamar is currently sitting at 7-13 on the season and 1-8 in conference play with a 3-1 win over New Orleans. In A&M-Commerce's previous match against the Cardinals, the Lions downed the Cardinals, 3-1, with set scores 25-20, 25-23, 19-25, and 26-24.
Kaitlyn Gil is leading the Cardinals with 3.38 kills per set while London Hatch leads with 777 assists in 78 sets played for an average of 9.96 assists per set, where she is nationally ranked 63
rd.
McNeese is currently sitting at 10-13 on the season and 6-3 in conference play falling to Northwestern State, Southeastern, and Houston Christian. The Cowgirls took the Lions to five sets, in their previous match, winning 3-2. With the Lions taking the first two sets 25-23 and 27-25, the Cowgirls won the following three sets 29-27, 25-21, and 15-8.
The Cowgirls are currently ranked No. 2 nationally in digs per set with 18.04 and No. 1 in team digs with 1,606. Bailey Tillman is currently ranked No. 10 in total digs with 416 among NCAA Division I players, while Kendall Glueck is ranked 36
th in the country with 329 points.
-TAMUC-
