COMMERCE – For the fifth time this season, the Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team went to the fifth set and for the fifth straight time, the Lions came up with the win, beating the UIW Cardinals on Thursday night in the Field House via set scores of 21-25, 25-21, 25-21, 20-25, 22-20.
 
The Lions led 2-1 in the match, but UIW forced a fifth set, by taking the fourth set, 25-20. Coming into the match, neither side had lost a five-set match this season.
 
Like the first four sets, the fifth set was back-and-forth, until a 4-0 run by the Lions gave them an 8-6 lead. The Cardinals took five of the next seven to lead 11-10, but the Lions responded with a 4-1 run for two chances to win the match.
 
The Cardinals fought off both match points to tie the set at 14. A&M-Commerce had the first four chances to close out the match, but each time, UIW fought it off. UIW had three chances to take the match, but the Lions fought those off. With UIW leading 20-19, Kitana Tuufuli (St. Hedwig – Steele) delivered a kill to tie it at 20.
 
A block by Yasmin Figueiredo (Rio de Janiero, Brazil) and Tuufuli gave the Lions another chance to win the match and they closed it out on a kill by Tuufuli.
 
With the win, the Lions are 8-11 on the season and 4-2 in Southland Conference play, while UIW drops to 9-9 overall and 1-5 in Southland play. The Lions are now 5-0 in five-setters this year and have won six straight meetings against the Cardinals.
 
A&M-Commerce had a 9-5 lead in the first set, but went on a 7-1 run in the middle of the set to jump out to a 20-14 lead and took the first set, 25-21. The second set started with the Lions leading 8-3, and despite the Cardinals tying the set at 12 on a 5-0 run and leading 20-17, the Lions took the next six points to lead 23-20 and tied the match by taking the second set, 25-21.
 
UIW went on a 5-0 run to take a 9-5 lead in the third set, but a 5-0 run gave the Lions a 16-14 lead. A kill by Essence Allen (Longview – Tatum) gave the Lions a 25-21 win in the third set.
 
Despite the Lions leading 4-1 in the fourth set, the Cardinals took a 10-6 lead and went on to take a 24-15 lead. A&M-Commerce won five in a row to pull to within 24-20, but UIW forced the fifth set with a 25-20 set win.
 
Allen and Tuufuli led the way with 19 kills each, while Allen had seven digs and Tuufuli had two. Allen also recorded three blocks and Tuufuli had two.
 
Reese Fetty (Farmersville) totaled 12 kills and three digs. Breann Connally (Coolidge – Groesbeck) recorded team-best 46 assists, while Peyton Plant (Littleton, Colo.) had 10. Connally also had seven digs, four kills, three blocks, and one ace.
 
Deja Benjamin (Pearland – Shadows Creek) posted four blocks, while Avery Wilks (Mont Belvieu – Barber Hills) had three, as did Allen, Connally, and Figueiredo.
 
Three Lions had double-digit digs with 37 from Jade Smith (Houston – Mayde Creek), Taylor Borden (Gregory-Portland) had 13, and Millie Allgood (Sherwood, Ark.) had 10.
 
For the Cardinals, Annamarie Alvarez had 18 kills, Mariela Nieto had 20, while both Natalie Kimmel (31 assists, 11 digs) and Anuhea Faitau (26 assists, 17 digs) had double-doubles.


POST MATCH INTERVIEW 

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The Lions host A&M-Corpus Christi at 2 p.m. on Saturday.