COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team plays three matches in the DFW Metroplex this weekend, including the Southland Conference opener at home on Thursday against McNeese.
LIONS' WEEKEND SCHEDULE
SCHEDULING NOTE
Due to a scheduling conflict, Friday's match against North Texas and Saturday's match against UT Arlington will be played at the Arlington ISD Athletics Center.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE LIONS
The Lions play at Lamar next week on Saturday, which is their lone match of the week.
TIDE ROLLED
A&M-Commerce downed Alabama in a five-set match last Friday 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 last Saturday. 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.
CONFERENCE OPENER
Thursday night is the conference opener for the Lions, facing the Cowgirls. A&M-Commerce is picked to finish seventh in the Southland this season, after finishing seventh last season. Thursday night is a rematch of last season's SLC Tournament Quarterfinal.
YOU CAN'T TOUCH THIS
Reese Fetty (Farmersville) has served up 15 aces this season. She is the Southland Conference leader in the category.
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.
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 169 digs on the season to lead the SLC.
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 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 Cowgirls come to Commerce to begin the conference slate for both teams. McNeese finished third in the regular season and went to the SLC Tournament semifinals. The Cowgirls are 1-9 this season, their lone win came at home against Southern. Megan Grose is this week's SLC Setter of the Week, she has 330 assists on the season.
North Texas and A&M-Commerce meet in Arlington for the second straight season. The Mean Green are 4-6 thus far this season, including a home win over Texas Tech. UNT lost in the Conference USA semifinals last season. Coco Gillett has 93 kills for the Mean Green this season.
UTA serves as hosts of the UTA Invitational and is 8-2 to start the season. The Lady Mavs are 3-0 on the season at home. Brianna Ford has 115 kills, while Briana Brown has 111. Mollie Blank as 292 assists and Alli Wells has 146 digs.
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