NATCHITOCHES, La.­ – The Texas A&M University-Commerce Volleyball team concluded the regular season with a five-set loss to Northwestern State on Saturday afternoon at Praither Colesium. In an intense match against the Lady Demons, the Lions were downed via set scores of 25-20, 27-29, 25-21, 23-25, and 16-18.
 
The Lions finish the regular season with a record of 10-22 overall and 6-12 in Southland Conference play and securing their seventh place in the 2022 standings. The Lions advance to the Southland Conference Tournament, earning the No. 7 seed in the eight-team tournament, facing New Orleans on Thursday in Hammond, Louisiana.
 
S1| Kicking things off, the Lions went on a 7-1 run to take the early lead and continued with another run to widen the gap, 12-4. The Lady Demons responded with an 8-1 run to put them one point behind the Lions, 13-12. Both teams continued to trade points with the Lady Demons staying no more than four points behind. A 4-1 run, once again, had the Lady Demons trailing by one before the Lions took the final four points to take the first set, 25-20.
 
S2 | The Lady Demons started the second set with a 5-1 run. The Lions began to chip away at the score and pulled to within one before a 4-0 run separated the Lady Demons, 15-10. A 9-3 run by the Lions tied the match at 16 before taking the lead, 19-16.
 
The Lady Demons answered with a 7-1 run to take the lead back and reached set point, 24-22, before a 3-0 run by the Lions gave them a set point at 25-24. Both teams continued to tie the set three more times before the Lady Demons secured the, 29-27, set win.
 
S3 | Neither team could pull away trading runs back and forth, tying the set 11 times with six lead changes, until a 6-2 run by the Lions clinched the set win, 25-21.
 
S4 | Both teams battled, once again, to take a significant lead by trading runs and tying the set for the 12^th time at 19-19. The Lions took a two-point lead at, 21-19, followed by the Lady Demons reclaiming the lead, 22-21. The Lions tied the match once again and led by one before the Lady Demons took the final three points to win the set, 25-23.
 
S5 | After the Lions scored the first point of the final set, the Lady Demons took the lead with a 4-1 run and held it. The Lions tied the set three times but did not take the lead until a 4-1 run to put the score at, 13-11. A service error by NSU gave the Lions a match point at 14-12, but three straight points by the Lady Demons gave them their first set point.
 
A&M-Commerce got another match point by taking the next two points, but Northwestern State secured the 18-16 win in the set by taking the next three points.
 
Celeste Vela (Guadalajara, Mexico) picked up a double-double with 46 assists, 20 digs, and one service ace. Essence Allen (Longview – Tatum) also had a double-double with 14 kills, 11 digs, and five blocks. While Lyric Hebert (Arvada, Colo.) collected 34 digs, six assists, and two service aces. Taryn Cast (Peaster) put down 11 kills and eight blocks, while Yasmin Figueiredo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) followed with six blocks. Maddy Rashford (Placentia, Calif.) had 13 kills, and Ashley Pennington (Frisco – Liberty) picked up two aces, three assists, and 10 digs.