COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team remains in Corpus Christi and begins the 2023 Southland Conference Tournament on Thursday at 3 p.m. The eighth seeded Lions are matched against fifth seeded Northwestern State Lady Demons in the first round

WHO: No. 5 seed Northwestern State vs. No. 8 seed A&M-Commerce
WHERE: Corpus Christi | Dugan Wellness Center
WHEN: Thursday, November 16 | 3 p.m.
RECORDS: The Lions are 9-22 on the season, having finished eighth in conference play with a 5-13 record. The Lady Demons enter the postseason with a record of 13-16 and took fifth in the SLC standings with a record of 9-9
 
WATCH: ESPN+ | https://www.espn.com/espnplus/player/_/id/8dfe1570-4322-475d-8c09-b8bdf1946d6d
LIVE STATS: https://statb.us/v/tame/496664
 
WHAT'S AT STAKE
Entering Thursday evening's match in San Antonio, both the Lions and the Cardinals have clinched a berth into the SLC Tournament and both are tied for sixth in the conference standings. New Orleans is one match back of both teams, holding the eighth seed in the tournament. The Lions can lock up the No. 6 seed in the tournament with a win on Thursday. 
 
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE LIONS
The first round of the SLC Tournament takes place next Thursday in Corpus Christi. The full bracket will be announced by the conference following the completion of all matches on Saturday. 
 
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 31 aces this season. She is tied for fourth in the Southland Conference for that category. 
 
NO…NO…NOT TODAY!
Deja Benjamin (Pearland – Shadows Creek) has recorded 100 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 464
digs on the season, which is the second in the Southland. 
 
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 Cardinals and the Lions played a thrilling five-setter in Commerce on October 5. A&M-Commerce has won all three meetings over UIW since the Lions joined the Southland. UIW has lost five of last six coming into this weekend, its lone win during that stretch was at home against Lamar. UIW closes out the regular season on Saturday in San Antonio against Northwestern State, who is currently fifth in the conference standings. 

Entering the final weekend of the regular season, the Islanders are still alive to win the SLC, but need to win out and need Southeastern to lose both of its matches. The Islanders need one more win to lock up the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament and guarantee themselves a double-bye in the conference tournament. Earlier this season, the Islanders won in Commerce over the Lions, who did push the match to four sets, marking the first set over A&M-Corpus Christi in the Division I era.