COMMERCE – A tough weekend is ahead for the Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team, who faces three major conference programs at the Texas Tech Invitational in Lubbock.
LIONS' WEEKEND SCHEDULE IN LUBBOCK
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE LIONS
A&M-Commerce hosts Prairie View A&M for its home opener on Tuesday and then heads to the Blazer Classic at UAB next weekend.
A THRILLING WIN IN ABILENE
The Lions fought till the end and pulled out a five-set win over Abilene Christian on Tuesday, which was the first meeting between the two former conference rivals since 2012. A&M-Commerce has won three straight meetings against the Wildcats.
NEW ERA BEGINS WITH A BANG
Joe Morales began his tenure as the Lions coach last week and it did not take long for him to earn his first career head coaching win. A&M-Commerce swept Texas Southern on Friday afternoon.
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.
SMITH SHINES IN HER DEBUT
Libero
Jade Smith (Mayde Creek) made her Lion debut and the Temple College transfer shined bright in her debut by earning UTSA Invitational all-tournament honors. She totaled 33 digs in three matches, totaling 14 against Missouri State and 11 in win over Texas Southern.
FETTY CAN DO IT ALL
After the first week of the season,
Reese Fetty (Farmersville) is first on the team with 37 kills on an average of 2.47 kills per set and second on the team with 34 digs on an average of 3.53 digs per set. She logged a double-double in the win over Texas Southern, which was her fourth career double-double.
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 Cowgirls are 3-0 to begin the season, with wins over Winthrop, Green Bay, and South Dakota State at their home tournament. Last season, Wyoming went 10-20, losing the last seven matches of the season. Tierney Barlow leads the team with 35 kills.
Louisiana collected a road win over No. 18 ranked Rice on Tuesday and is 3-1 on the season, with other two wins coming over SLC foe Northwestern State and Eastern Kentucky, respectively. The Ragin' Cajuns went 15-13 last season, playing in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC). Shyla Richardson is the team's kills leader with 66, Kennedy Gustafson has 53 digs.
The Red Raiders took all four matches at the Under Armour Challenge last week in Lubbock, winning over SLC foe Houston Christian, Wichita State, Notre Dame, and Abilene Christian. Texas Tech went 16-13 last season and are led by Brynn Williams with 72 kills, while Maddie Correa has 77 digs.
-TAMUC-
