COMMERCE– The Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team is on the road this weekend for matches against fellow Southland Conference member, New Orleans on Thursday and Nicholls on Saturday.
LIONS' WEEKEND SCHEDULE
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE LIONS
Last week the Lions hosted two of three conference matches in a five-day period. Starting off on the road, A&M-Commerce fell to Houston Christian 3-1, taking the Huskies to four sets with a 25-23 win in the third. The Lions hosted the next two matches against Incarnate Word and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. After sinking Incarnate Word 3-1 on Thursday night, the Lions fell to the defending Southland Conference champion A&M-Corpus Christi, 0-3.
WHAT'S AHEAD FOR THE LIONS
The Lions renew their rivalry at Tarleton on October 11 at 6:30 p.m. and returns home to hosts Southeastern Louisiana on Thursday, October 13, and Northwestern State on Saturday October 15, closing the first half of conference play.
FIRST APPEARANCE IN RPI
On Monday, the NCAA released its first Ratings Power Index (RPI) of the season. The Lions are rated 307 in Division I, which is seventh best in the Southland Conference. Southeastern is tops in the SLC with an RPI of 174.
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.
SLC PRESEASON POLL
In their first season in the Southland Conference, the Lions were picked No. 7 out of 10 teams in the preseason poll. The full poll can be found below.
2022 SLC VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON POLL, PRESENTED BY READY
| Place |
Team (First-place votes) |
Total |
| 1 |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (13) |
157 |
| 2 |
Houston Christian (7) |
151 |
| 3 |
Southeastern |
125 |
| 4 |
McNeese |
106 |
| 5 |
UIW |
95 |
| 6 |
Northwestern State |
83 |
| 7 |
A&M-COMMERCE |
54 |
| 8 |
Nicholls |
50 |
| 9 |
New Orleans |
46 |
| 10 |
Lamar |
33 |
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Going into her second coaching season with the team, the New Orleans Privateers are led by Ashley Preston. In 2021, the Privateers went 1-22 with a win over Nicholls and are currently 9-8 overall on the season and 3-2 in conference matches. Their RPI is 304. With a 3-1 loss against Lamar in non-conference play at the UT-Arlington Classic, and three-set losses against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and McNeese in conference play.
Sophia Ewalefo leads the team with 155 kills, while Kamryn Scroggins is recording 8.28 assists per set. The last matchup between A&M-Commerce and New Orleans was October 16, 1982, where the Lions lost 2-1.
The Nicholls Colonels are being led by Kallie Noble, who is going into her second season of the indoor program along with her third heading up the beach squad. On the defensive side, Kadie Becnel is currently leads the team with 231 digs.
The Colonels are 4-13 overall on the season and 1-4 in conference matches, winning against the UIW Cardinals putting their current RPI at 312. On November 16, 1978, the Lions were supposed to compete against Nicholls and the Lions won 1-0 due to a forfeit.
-TAMUC-
