BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The good times kept rolling for the Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team on Saturday afternoon in Bartow Arena as the Lions picked up a 3-1 win over the UAB Blazers via set scores of 19-25, 26-24, 25-18, and 25-19.
 
The Lions won two in a row to close out the Blazer Classic, beating Alabama on Friday evening and now the Blazers on Saturday afternoon. A&M-Commerce improves to 4-7 on the season, playing its first Southland Conference contest next Thursday. UAB is 2-6 on the season.

"I'm really proud of this team and what they earned this weekend. Falling early to Tarleton, but they fought every inch," said coach Joe Morales. "The win over Alabama, an SEC team, in our second match was exciting to be a part of. The team was fired up, and rightfully so. Beating a Power Five conference team is never an easy task and the commitment they had on the court was something to be amazed at."  

"Today's focus was on UAB, our first set was a struggle. Prior to our match, we talked about moving forward and the Alabama game was in the past. Moving into the second set, our team responded full throttle and never took their foot of the gas, even making a comeback from being down 17-22 and winning that match." 

There are times we struggle, but our determination as a team and our fight continues to be a key, they find a way. We could not be more proud of them this weekend.

The first set started with the Blazers leading 5-2, but the Lions tied the set thanks to three straight attacking errors. UAB remained up front throughout the rest of the set, and they closed out the set by taking the final two points.
 
UAB had a 13-7 lead in the second set and despite the Lions getting within reach, the Blazers led 21-13, being on the brink of taking a 2-0 lead in the match. The Lions took the next three points, but UAB took the next two for a 23-16 margin.
 
The Lions took the next six points to pull to 23-22, but UAB had its first set point opportunity following a kill. Momentarily, UAB had won the set at 25-22, but the set point play was reviewed and in went in the favor of the Lions, citing a UAB player touched the kill from Kitana Tuufuli (St. Hedwig – Steele) before it went out of bounds, making it 24-23 in favor of UAB.
 
Two straight attacking errors by the Blazers gave A&M-Commerce a chance to win the set at 25-24, and another attacking error gave A&M-Commerce a 26-24 win in the second set.
 
The Lions took the first four points of the third set, which built enough separation for the Lions, that they did not trail in the set. With a hitting percentage of .229 in the set, the Lions took a 2-1 lead with a 25-18 third set win.
 
Once again in the fourth set, the Lions had an early lead at 10-5. UAB, on a 7-1 run, took a 18-15 lead, but a service error and an attacking error pulled A&M-Commerce to 18-17. After the Blazers took the next point, the Lions did not surrender a point for the rest of the set to win it 25-19 in the fourth. A&M-Commerce hit .385 in the fourth set.
 
Reese Fetty (Farmersville) posted a double-double with 12 kills and 13 digs, her second of the season. Peyton Roper (Converse – Judson) had eight kills, while Tuufuli and Deja Benjamin (Pearland – Shadows Creek) had seven each.
 
Jade Smith (Houston – Mayde Creek) had 13 digs as well as two aces, while Tuufuli recorded 12 digs. Peyton Plant (Littleton, Colo.) had 23 assists and Breann Connally (Coolidge – Groesbeck) had 12 assists.
 
Roper led the way with four blocks, while Benjamin, Tuufuli, and Avery Wilks (Mont Belvieu – Barbers Hill) had three each.  
 
For the Blazers, Mia Reese totaled 21 kills.
 
UP NEXT
The Lions play three matches in the DFW Metroplex next week, hosting McNeese on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. for the first conference match of the year. A&M-Commerce also takes part in the UTA Invitational, facing North Texas on Friday and UT Arlington on Saturday.