COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team continues its week against New Orleans at home on Thursday and heading to McNeese on Saturday as the race for tournament seeding heats up.
 
LIONS' WEEKEND SCHEDULE

Date	Time	Opponent	Coverage
Thursday, Oct. 26	6:30 p.m.	New Orleans	ESPN+ | Live Stats
Saturday, Oct. 28	11 a.m.	at McNeese	Live Stats

 
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE LIONS
The Lions host their final two matches of 2023 next week, welcoming Nicholls on Thursday and Houston Christian on Saturday afternoon for Senior Day.   
 
SLC RACE HEATING UP
Every team in the Southland has less than seven matches left in the regular season heading into this weekend. The Lions sit in sixth place currently and the top eight teams make the SLC tournament. A&M-Commerce is a match ahead of UIW and New Orleans currently holds the final spot into the SLC tournament.
 
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 on October 5, 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 26 aces this season. She is fourth in the Southland Conference for that category. 
 
NO…NO…NOT TODAY!
Deja Benjamin (Pearland – Shadows Creek) has recorded 84 blocks on the season, which puts her fourth in the SLC this season. Avery Wilks (Mont Belvieu – Barber Hills) is eighth with 51.
 
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 437
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
The Privateers have lost six in a row coming into Thursday and are 4-19 overall as well as 2-10 in conference play. The Lions picked up a 3-0 win in New Orleans on September 28 and have won each of the last two meetings against the Privateers, who won the previous two meetings.  
 
Karen Cordero Barr is the team leader in kills with 210, setter Defne Eciroglu has 338 assists, while both Lexi Alleman and Cordero Barr have 172 digs each.
 
The Cowgirls and the Lions met in the conference opener for both teams, with McNeese picking up a 3-0 win in the Field House. Though the Cowgirls have won each of the four meetings between the two teams in the last two years, the Lions did go to five sets and had match point opportunities in the only other meeting between the two teams in Lake Charles.
 
McNeese is 11-14 on the season and sits in fourth place with a conference record of 9-3, having won four of the last five. Bailey Tillman, the reigning SLC Defensive Player of the Week, leads McNeese with 443 digs, while Carissa Chainey has 296 kills and McKenzie Moore has 245 kills.