COMMERCE – Coming off its first win in Southland Conference play, the Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team hosts Northwestern State on Tuesday to begin a week in which the Lions play three matches.
 
LIONS SCHEDULE THIS WEEK

Date	Time	Opponent	Coverage
Tuesday, Sept. 26	6:30 p.m.	vs. Northwestern State	ESPN+ | Live Stats
Thursday, Sept. 28	6:30 p.m.	at New Orleans	ESPN+ | Live Stats
Saturday, Sept. 30	11 a.m.	at Southeastern	Live Stats

 
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE LIONS
The Lions host UIW on October 5 and A&M-Corpus Christi on October 7.  
 
A WIN OVER THE CARDINALS
The Lions took the win over Lamar last Saturday in five sets for the first conference win of the season, it was the first win in Beaumont since the program's move up to Division I and the third road conference win in the last two years.
 
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.

YOU CAN'T TOUCH THIS
Reese Fetty (Farmersville) has served up 15 aces this season. She is third in the Southland Conference for that 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 226 digs on the season, which is second in the SLC.
 
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 Lady Demons started the season losing their first seven matches, but have turned the season around and enter the Field House on Tuesday with a seven-match winning streak. Northwestern State is 3-0 in conference play. Teresa Garza is the team leader with 118 kills, while Reaghan Thompson was last week's SLC Defensive Player of the Week. The two teams went 1-1 against each other last season with both teams winning at home.
 
In a rematch of last season's SLC Tournament first round match, New Orleans is 2-11 on the season and 0-2 in conference play. The Privateers have lost six in a row going into Thursday's match. The two wins came over South Carolina State and Southern. Karen Cordero Barr has 123 kills, Vera Beltrame has 152 assists, while Barr leads the way with 95 digs, and Lani Alleman has 93 digs. The Privateers won both meetings over the Lions last year in the regular season, but the Lions took the win in the SLC Tournament.
 
Southeastern, the defending SLC Tournament Champion, is off to a 11-4 start overall and 2-1 in conference play. The Lady Lions have non-conference wins over Texas State, who was receiving votes at the time, and at LSU. SLU fell to the Lions in Commerce last season, while winning at home. Kaillin Newsome, the conference's first team all-preseason honoree, has 196 kills, while Gracie Duplechein has 247 assists, and Ansley Tullis has 187 digs.