COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team is set to travel to Stephen F. Austin this weekend to compete in the SFA Tournament before they begin Southland Conference play.
LIONS WEEKEND SCHEDULE
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE LIONS
The Lions finished out the Mountaineer Classic last weekend, sweeping Presbyterian in the second match of the tournament, 3-0, and falling to Appalachian State and Furman.
Taryn Cast (Peaster) had 25 kills and 14 blocks. She was named to the all-tournament team, the lone Lion to be represented.
Maddy Rashford (Placienta, Calif.) recorded 32 kills,
Celeste Vela (Guadalajara, Mexico) had 106 assists in the three matches.
Lyric Hebert (Arvada, Calif.) led the way with 36 digs.
WHAT'S AHEAD FOR THE LIONS
Following this weekend in Nacogdoches, the Lions begin Southland Conference play at McNeese on September 22 and host their first Division I match on September 24 against Lamar.
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.
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
The Ladyjacks went 19-10 last season and are currently 9-1 this season. SFA is under the leadership of coach Debbie Humphreys, who is going into her 34
th season with the Ladyjacks. She is one of only 11 active NCAA Division I coaches with more than 700 wins. SFA started 9-0 on the season before falling to Houston Baptist last weekend. They are hitting .239 percent on the season with an average of 13.9 kills per set.
Ielan Bradley has 118 kills in 37 sets played for an average of 3.19, in the match against UC Irvine this season she had 17 kills. Haley Hoang has also earned Western Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week award this season. The Lions are 17-10 all-time against the Ladyjacks, having won 10 straight. This is the first meeting between the two former Lone Star Conference foes since 1987.
The Arkansas State Red Wolves posted a record of 15-14 last season and are currently 5-4. They're restricting their opponents to hit .179 percent on the season. The Red Wolves went 3-0 in the UT Martin Skyhawk Invitational which was in the midst of a four-match winning streak.
Brian Gerwig is entering his first year as head coach for the Red Wolves. Freshman Kyla Wiersema has recorded a total of 95 kills for the season and is hitting .437 percent. Macey Putt leads the team with 135 kills in 33 sets played for an average of 4.09, she had 26 kills in the match against Saint Louis.
The Eastern Washington Eagles, who played in the Big Sky Quarterfinals last season, going 11-14, begins a new chapter under coach Jon Haruguchi, who was named the eighth volleyball coach in program history earlier this year. The Eagles are 3-6 on the season, with wins over Southern, South Dakota State, and Southern Utah.
Lindsey Russell is averaging 10.06 assists per set, which is top 55 in the country. Sadie Bacon is 55
th in the country with 16 service aces on the season at a clip of 0.46 aces per set. Makenna Collins leads the team with 138 digs averaging 3.94 digs per set.
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