COMMERCE - Fresh off facing both teams on the road, the Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team welcomes A&M-Corpus Christi and UTRGV this weekend to end a stretch of four on the road.
LIONS' SCHEDULE THIS WEEKEND
KICKIN' CANCER
Thursday's match against A&M-Corpus Christi is the Kickin' Cancer match for the Lions. All fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of breast cancer awareness.
GLAD TO BE HOME
The Lions started 3-0 in Southland play, including two wins at home, but have since lost four in a row, all on the road. Thursday's match up against A&M-Corpus Christi makes the first home match for the Lions since September 28. A&M-Commerce is 4-1 on the Hunt Regional Healthcare Court this season.
LET'S GET FAMILIARIZE OURSELVES
A&M-Commerce plays four in a row against the Islanders and the Vaqueros. After playing on their home courts a week ago, the Lions welcome the two teams to Commerce this weekend.
HISTORIC START TO SLC PLAY
The Lions played their first three conference matches and came out victorious over Northwestern State on the road, and both UIW and McNeese at home. It marked the first 3-0 start to conference play for A&M-Commerce since 2019, which was also the last conference championship for the program.
BAUMERT, SMITH NOTCH SLC HONORS
Thanks to the great start to conference play,
Ellie Baumert (Dodge, Neb.) and
Jade Smith (Houston - Mayde Creek) were named the conference's setter and defensive player of the week, respectively, earlier this week. Baumert has recorded double-doubles in every conference match, while Smith is the conference leader in digs and digs per set average.
STREAK SNAPPED AGAINST THE TIGERS
The Lions entered the match against Tennessee State on a seven-match losing streak, but the skid was snapped with a five-set win over Tennessee State. The Lions took the first two sets, while the Tigers won the next two to force a fifth set. WIth the fifth set win, A&M-Commerce is now 2-1 in five-set matches this year. In the win, both
Ellie Baumert (Dodge, Neb.) and
Reese Fetty (Farmersville) recorded double-doubles in the win. A&M-Commerce has won four of five since playing Tennessee State.
TOUGH PATCH ENDS ON THE ROAD
The Lions had lost their first three true road matches of the season, but swept Northwestern State last Tuesday to record the first road win of the season, which was also the first win over Lady Demons away from Commerce. A&M-Commerce is now 4-1 at home as well.
STRONG START TO THE SEASON
After dropping the season opener to Little Rock, the Lions caught fire to down Central Arkansas in five sets and Tarleton in four to start 2-1 to start the season, which was the program's best start to a season since the spring 2021 season.
SMITH CATCHES FIRE
Smith totaled 79 digs in the three matches at the Lion Invitational, recording just three receiving errors, which was the best in the Southland. As a result, Smith was named the conference's first Defensive Player of the Week, the first of the year. She had 29 in the win over Central Arkansas and 23 in the win over Tarleton. She was also named to the all-tournament team at TCU.
WILKS CAN'T MISS
Avery Wilks (Mont Belvieu - Barbers Hill) was near-perfect in the win over the Texans, recording 10 kills in 11 attempts. For her performance in the Lion win, Wilks was named to the Lion Invitational All-Tournament team.
RARE START AT HOME
The Lion Invitational marked the first time the Lions are beginning the season at home in a non-COVID affected season since 2009. The other three teams in the Lion Invitational are Little Rock, Central Arkansas, and Tarleton. The last time the Lions opened at home was the spring 2021 season.
HELLO NEW LIONS
This season, the Lions debut nine newcomers in the lineup. Of the nine newcomers, two are freshmen, while seven are transfers. The freshmen for the program this year are
Semaj Cox (Missouri City - Elkins) and
Nevaeh Smith (San Antonio - O'Connor), while the transfers are
Ellie Baumert (Dodge, Neb.) from Texas Tech,
Brooke Box (Klein Collins) from UTRGV,
Kylie Bray (Concordia Lutheran) from Blinn College,
Gracie Campbell (Klein Oak),
Savannah Jennings (Rosehill Christian) from Lee,
MJ Klaumann (Emerald Isle, N.C.) from USC Upstate, and
Maselina Tuufuli (Saint Hedwig - Steele) from Pepperdine.
Baumert, Campbell, and Tuufuli competed for the Lions during the spring season.
GOING STREAKING
This season, the Lions are looking to make the postseason for the 13
th season in a row, which is the longest active streak of any program at A&M-Commerce.
TIDE ROLLED
Last season, 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. This Saturday's matchup against Ole Miss marks the first meeting against a SEC opponent since then.
BLAZERS TAMED
Last year, 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.
A NEW-LOOK SOUTHLAND
The Southland Conference adds two members this season in Stephen F. Austin and UTRGV. In the preseason SLC poll, the Ladyjacks, a 2023 NCAA Tournament participant, were picked to win the SLC, while the Vaqueros were picked second. The Lions were picked 10th by the conference's head coaches and sports information directors.
2024 Preseason Southland Volleyball Poll
- SFA – 233 (17)
- UTRGV – 212 (3)
- Southeastern – 207 (2)
- Texas A&M-Corpus Christi – 198
- HCU – 159 (2)
- McNeese – 144
- Northwestern State – 120
- UIW – 89
- New Orleans – 74
- A&M-COMMERCE – 70
- Lamar – 53
- Nicholls – 25
SUCCESS IN THE CLASSROOM
This offseason, the Lions once again received the AVCA Team Academic Award, marking the seventh consecutive year that the Lions received the award, while also being among the top 20 percent in NCAA Division I.
RIVALRY RE-IGNITED WITH THE TEXANS
August 31 marked a historic moment for the Lions as they hosted Tarleton for the first time since 2018, the two rivals had played five times since, with four of the matches in Stephenville and a 3-0 win for the Texans at UAB last season. The Lions are now 2-1 over the Texans in the Division I era for both teams, while the Texans are 24-23 all-time against the Lions.
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
The Islanders took the win in four over the Lions last Thursday, which is just the second time the Lions have been able to take a set off A&M-Corpus Christi in the five meetings between the two teams since joining the conference. It is also the first time that the Lions are seeing an opponent for the second time. A&M-Corpus Christi is now 9-8 and has won five in a row coming into this weekend.
UTRGV dropped just one set last week in two matches, including sweeping A&M-Commerce at home and is now 8-8 on the season and 4-2 in the SLC. The Vaqueros' Isabelle Constantini has earned SLC Setter of the Week honors each of the last two weeks and three times this season, while Claudia Lupescu was named the conference's offensive player of the week last week.
-TAMUC-
