ARLINGTON ­– Despite taking the first set in both matches on Friday, the Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team fell by matching scores of 3-1 to the Providence Collegr Friars and the UT-Arlington Mavericks at the College Park Center as part of the UTA Classic. 
 
Reese Fetty (Farmersville) recorded a double-double in both games tonight with 18 kills and 17 digs against Providence and 11 kills and 16 digs against UTA.

MATCH 1: PROVIDENCE 3, A&M-COMMERCE 1 
Neither team was able to pull away until a kill by Carley Spachman (Leewood, Kansas) secured a 4-1 run for the Lions and pushed the score to 14-10. A kill by Fetty secured the Lions a set win over the Friars, 25-22.
 
The second set was tight between the two teams. The Lions charged with a 4-1 run to tie the set 23-23, before the Friars closed it out 25-27 on a service ace.
 
The Lions fell behind early in the third set with the Friars going on a 10-2 run at the start of the set. The Lions pulled closer with a 4-0 run before the Friars took the final three points and took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-15 win in the third.

Set four was another back and forth battle before a 5-0 run put the Friars in the lead, 17-12. The Lions returned the favor with a 7-1 run to go ahead 19-18. Shaliyah Rhoden sealed the 25-23 win for the Friars via a kill.

Fetty recorded 18 kills and 17 digs for a double-double, while Celeste Vela (Guadalajara, Mexico) had 43 assists and two aces, and Lyric Hebert (Arvada Colo.) led the team with 23 digs.

MATCH 2: UT-ARLINGTON 3, A&M-COMMERCE 1
The Mavericks opened the match with a 3-0 run before going toe-to-toe with the Lions. Maddy Rashford (Placentia, Calif.) tied the set at 20-all with her third kill of the set and she clinched the first set for Lions with a kill, 25-23. 
 
Fetty kicked things off for the Lions with a kill in the second set. The Mavericks answered with a 6-0 run and closed the set 25-15, on an attacking error.
 
The Mavericks started off the third set with a 8-1 run. Rashford, Fetty, and Taryn Cast (Peaster) bolted the Lions with a set of kills for a 7-1 run and took a 15-14 lead. The Mavericks responded with an 8-0 run to seal the Lions fate in the third, 25-19. Brianna Ford notched her second double-double of the season in the third set with 15 kills and 14 digs.
 
The Lions found momentum with a 4-0 run in the fourth set to take the lead, 13-12 before the Mavericks sealed the match with a 3-0 run to finish the set, 25-19. Ford surpassed her season high in the fourth set with 19 kills and 17 digs.

Fetty posted another double-double recording 11 kills and 16 digs. Alongside Fetty, Vela obtained a double-double with 30 assists and 11 digs. Rashford led the team with 12 kills, Hebert had team-leading 17 digs and two aces.


POST MATCH INTERVIEW

UP NEXT
The Lions take on North Texas on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. to close out the UTA Classic.