COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team continues the Southland Conference schedule, heading on the road to face the defending conference champion, Houston Christian, and welcoming Lamar on Saturday.
LIONS' WEEKEND SCHEDULE
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE LIONS
The Lions head to Nicholls on October 19 and host Southeastern on October 21.
STREAK BREAKERS
The Lions beat Northwestern State in five sets to halt the Lady Demons' seven-match winning streak. That was the second time this season that the Lions ended a streak of six or matches, having beaten Alabama, who was 6-0 at the time.
STAYIN' ALIVE
By beating UIW last week, the Lions moved to 5-0 in five-set matches this season, having beaten Abilene Christian, Alabama, Lamar, Northwestern State, and UIW. The five five-set wins this season are the most since nine in 2018. The 5-0 start in five-set matches the 5-0 start in 2015.
YOU CAN'T TOUCH THIS
Millie Allgood (Sherwood, Ark.) has served up 20 aces this season. She is tied for fifth in the Southland Conference for that category.
NO…NO…NOT TODAY!
Deja Benjamin (Pearland – Shadows Creek) has recorded 58 blocks on the season, which puts her fifth in the SLC this season.
Avery Wilks (Mont Belvieu – Barber Hills) is eighth with 45.
SMITH KEEPS SHINING
Libero
Jade Smith (Mayde Creek), a Temple College transfer, shined bright in her debut by earning UTSA Invitational all-tournament honors after the first week of the season. She has 331
digs on the season, which is the best in the SLC.
TIDE ROLLED
A&M-Commerce downed Alabama in a five-set match on September 8 for A&M-Commerce's first win over a Power Five conference opponent. The Lions fell behind 2-1 in the match, but took the final two sets. It is the first ever win over an SEC opponent in school history in any sport.
BLAZERS TAMED
The Lions followed the win over Alabama with a win over UAB the next day. The Blazers took the first set, but A&M-Commerce took the next three sets, including a comeback from being down 23-17 in the second set.
A THRILLING WIN IN ABILENE
The Lions fought till the end and pulled out a five-set win over Abilene Christian, which was the first meeting between the two former conference rivals since 2012. A&M-Commerce has won three straight meetings against the Wildcats.
AN UTTER DOMINANCE OF THE TIGERS
The Lions hit .321 percent in the win over Texas Southern, which is the third highest in the program's Division I era and it was the first three-set win since October 29, 2022.
NEW ERA BEGINS WITH A BANG
Joe Morales began his tenure as the Lions coach at the UTSA Invitational and it did not take long for him to earn his first career head coaching win. A&M-Commerce swept Texas Southern in their second match of the season.
NEW FACES ON THE BENCH
Morales is joined by
Morgan Williams on the coaching staff as an assistant coach, while
Makenna Hanssen returns as the program's graduate assistant coach.
INTERNATIONAL LOVE
Four countries are represented on the 2023 roster for the Lions. Fourteen players are from the United States, while one each hail from Brazil, Poland, and Germany.
GOING STREAKING
This season, the Lions are looking to make the postseason for the 12
th season in a row, which is the longest active streak of any program at A&M-Commerce.
BUILDING UPON 2022
Last season was A&M-Commerce's first season in NCAA Division I and the Southland Conference. The season was filled with many historical wins for the Lions, who beat Prairie View A&M for their first Division I win, swept Southeastern, who won the 2023 SLC Tournament and played in the NCAA Tournament, and downed New Orleans in the SLC Tournament.
SOUTHLAND PRESEASON POLL
Entering their second season in the Southland Conference, the Lions were picked seventh in the preseason conference poll.
| 1. |
HCU (8) |
120 |
| 2. |
Southeastern Louisiana (8) |
118 |
| 3. |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
96 |
| 4. |
McNeese |
93 |
| 5. |
Northwestern State |
82 |
| 6. |
UIW |
58 |
| 7. |
A&M-COMMERCE |
55 |
| 8. |
New Orleans |
53 |
| 9. |
Nicholls |
23 |
| 10. |
Lamar |
22 |
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
HCU, who won the conference championship last season and competed in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) a year ago, is 5-2 in conference play, being tied for third in the SLC standings and hold an overall record of 10-9. The Huskies are undefeated in Sharp Gym this year.
Sara Arroyo is top five in the conference with an average of 3.1 kills per set, while the Huskies are 26
th in the nation totaling 81 blocks on the season. Grace McLaughlin is averaging 9.6 assists per set, which is second in the SLC. The Huskies won both meetings over the Lions last season, but A&M-Commerce did take HCU to five sets in Commerce and had a match point opportunity.
Lamar collected its first win of the season last week, beating Nicholls in five sets on the road. The Cardinals are 1-17 overall and 1-6 in SLC matches. Earlier this season, the Lions beat the Cardinals in five sets. Lamar hosts Southeastern on Thursday before coming to Commerce on Saturday afternoon.
Lyric Jordan has picked up 154 kills, Jo Moffitt has 366 assists, and Kaeden Robinson has 194 digs on the season.
-TAMUC-
