COMMERCE – Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team fell in three sets on Hunt Regional Healthcare court inside the Field House on Thursday evening to the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi via set scores of 25-23, 25-19, and 25-18.
 
Thursday was the Kickin' Cancer match in support of breast cancer awareness for the Lions.
 
Coach Joe Morales said, "this is a tough one to swallow because we are a better team than what's been out there. Our outside hitters kept us in the game, but if we cannot get our middles going, it's hard to beat a team like that. We have to regroup for Saturday's match and fix those errors. We are still capable of competing with every team in the conference."
 
In the first set, the Islanders jumped out to an 8-2 lead, but the Lions used a 5-0 run to come to within 12-11. A&M-Commerce completed the comeback to tie the set at 20 and had a 22-21 lead on an attacking error, but the Islanders won the next three set points to open up two set point opportunities. The Lions fought off a point, but the Islanders took the first set, 25-23.
 
Just like the first set, the Islanders built a 10-3 lead to begin the second set. The closest the Lions got was 22-17, trailing by as much as 11 in the set. A&M-Commerce fought off a set point once again, but the Islanders went up 2-0 in the match with a second set win, 25-19.
 
The Islanders led 11-6 in the third, after the Lions had the early 6-5 edge, and though the Lions saved three match points, a kill by Morgan Smith secured the match win for the Islanders, 25-18.
 
Reese Fetty (Farmersville) picked up a double-double in the match with 14 kills and 17 digs, serving up three aces as well, while Gracie Campbell (Klein Oak) totaled 10 kills and five digs, and Ellie Baumert (Dodge, Neb.) picked up 32 assists. Jade Smith (Houston – Mayde Creek) led the team with 20 digs.
 
The Lions have lost five in a row to fall to 6-14 overall and 3-5 in Southland Conference play, while the Islanders are 10-8 overall and have won five in a row to hold a conference record of 5-2 in SLC action.
 
UP NEXT
A&M-Commerce plays host to UTRGV on Saturday at 11 a.m. Tickets can be purchased at LionAthletics.com/Tickets.