SAN ANTONIO – With the No. 6 seed in the Southland Conference Tournament on the line, the UIW Cardinals came back from being down two sets to stun the Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team on Thursday night via set scores of 25-27, 22-25, 25-22, 25-17, and 15-10, at the McDermott Center.
 
The Cardinals picked up their sixth conference win of the season to take sole possession of sixth place going into the final match of the regular season. The Lions are 5-12, being tied for seventh place with New Orleans.
 
Thursday was the first five-set loss for A&M-Commerce this season. Both meetings this season between A&M-Commerce and UIW went the distance, with each team winning on its home court.
 
Both teams exchanged the first eight points of the first set, until the Cardinals went on a 4-0 run to lead 8-4. The Lions halted the scoring rally and tied the set at nine, eventually taking a 14-12 lead. A&M-Commerce did not trail again in the set.
 
The Lions led 22-18, but the Cardinals took the next two to force a timeout. After the timeout, the Lions took two of the next three to set up two set-point opportunities. UIW fought off both set points on two kills by Risa Sena, but the Lions got another chance to take the set at 25-24, which was once again saved by the Cardinals.
 
A kill by Kitana Tuufuli (St. Hedwig – Steele) allowed for another set point chance and an attacking error by UIW secured the first set for the Lions.
 
In the middle of the second set, the Cardinals had a 14-12 lead. A&M-Commerce won three in a row to take back a 15-14 lead, extended it to 18-15, and the set was not tied again. Yasmin Figueiredo (Rio de Janiero, Brazil) tallied two aces in the set, the first gave the Lions a 18-15 lead, and the second was on set point to win the set, 25-22.
 
The third set was tight between the two teams until UIW pulled off three straight points to lead 10-7. The Lions went on a 4-0 run to lead 14-13. Coming out of the media timeout with A&M-Commerce leading 15-14, the Lions went on a 6-1 run to build a major cushion in the third set. The Lions went on a 5-1 run of their own to come to within 23-22, but a kill by Sena and a service ace gave the set to the Cardinals.
 
Outside of the first point of the set, the Cardinals led for the rest of the set. The Cardinals led by as much 10 in the fourth set. UIW hit .333 in the fourth set, while the Lions hit -.026.
 
The Cardinals took the first two points of the fifth set, but the Lions tied it at two. After falling behind 5-3, the Lions took three straight, including two kills by Kitana Tuufuli (St. Hedwig – Steele) to lead 6-5 and force a Cardinal timeout.
 
Following the timeout, UIW rattled off five straight and forced A&M-Commerce to use its timeout. The timeout worked for the Lions as well as they took the next two points, but the Cardinals responded with a 2-0 run. Back-to-back aces by Natalie Kimmel, the SLC leader in service aces, completed the Cardinal comeback.
 
Tuufuli picked up 16 kills for the Lions, while Essence Allen (Longview – Tatum) totaled 15 kills, 13 digs, and five aces for a double-double. Breann Connally (Coolidge – Groesbeck) recorded 29 assists and Peyton Plant (Littleton, Colo.) picked up 22 assists.
 
Jade Smith (Houston – Mayde Creek) led the way with 20 digs, Millie Allgood (Sherwood, Ark.) had 18, and Allen added 13. Figueiredo had five blocks, while Reese Fetty (Farmersville), Deja Benjamin (Pearland – Shadows Creek), and Peyton Roper (Converse – Judson) added four blocks each.
 
Kyla Malone had a double-double for the Cardinals with 17 kills and 14 digs.
 
UP NEXT
The Lions close out the regular season at A&M-Corpus Christi at 1 p.m. on Saturday. A&M-Commerce remains in Corpus Christi for the SLC Tournament next week.