COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team hosts the final two home matches of the season this week, welcoming Nicholls to the Field House on Thursday and Houston Christian for Senior Day on Saturday.
LIONS' WEEKEND SCHEDULE
SENIOR DAY
Prior to the match on Saturday, the Lions will honor graduating seniors
Essence Allen (Longview – Tatum),
Reese Fetty (Farmersville),
Yasmin Figueiredo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), and
Peyton Plant (Littleton, Colo.) with a Senior Day ceremony.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE LIONS
The Lions close out the regular season at UIW next Thursday and at A&M-Corpus Christi on November 11.
SLC RACE HEATING UP
Every team in the Southland has four matches left in the regular season. The Lions and UIW are tied for sixth place with a conference record of 5-9, with A&M-Commerce currently holding the tiebreaker. Both teams have a two-match lead over New Orleans. A win on Thursday for A&M-Commerce will clinch a berth 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 28 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 92 blocks on the season, which puts her fourth in the SLC this season.
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 457
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 Colonels are 1-13 in conference play overall and 3-21 overall, having lost four in a row. Nicholls' last win and only win in conference play was against A&M-Commerce, winning in four sets at home. Since the Lions joined the Southland, the Colonels have won two of three meetings.
HCU is 14-12 on the season and 9-5 in conference play. The defending SLC Champions beat the Lions in three earlier this season in Houston, but when the two teams met in Commerce last season, the Huskies needed five sets for the win.
-TAMUC-
