COMMERCE - The Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team makes a quick trip to Nicholls on Saturday to begin a stretch of four matches in a span of a week, entering the home stretch of the regular season.  

WHO: A&M-Commerce at Nicholls
WHERE: Thibodaux, La. | Stopher Gymnasium
WHEN: Saturday, November 2 | 11 a.m.
RECORDS: The Lions are 7-15 overall and 4-6 against Southland opponents, while Nicholls is 7-14 overall and 2-8 in SLC action.   
 
LIVE STATS: https://geauxcolonels.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary

STREAK SNAPPED AGAINST THE HUSKIES
Entering the match having lost six in a row, the Lions beat Houston Christian in four sets last week to snap the streak, while also picking up the first win over HCU in program history, having lost the previous five meetings. Jade Smith (Houston - Mayde Creek) recorded 20 digs in the match, earning honorable mention all-conference honors, while Avery Wilks (Mont Belvieu - Barbers Hill) had team best 16 kills in the match. 

SPRINT TO THE FINISH
The Lions have played just one match since November 20, but the meeting against the Colonels on Saturday begins a stretch of four matches over the next week for the Lions. After the match on Saturday in Thibodaux, the Lions host Northwestern State on Tuesday, and head to Houston Christian on Thursday as well as UIW next Saturday. 

LET'S GET FAMILIARIZE OURSELVES
A&M-Commerce played four in a row against the Islanders and the Vaqueros. After playing on their home courts, the Lions welcomed the two teams to Commerce last week.  

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 Smith 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
Wilks 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

1. SFA – 233 (17)
2. UTRGV – 212 (3)
3. Southeastern – 207 (2)
4. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi – 198
5. HCU  – 159 (2)
6. McNeese – 144
7. Northwestern State – 120
8. UIW – 89
9. New Orleans – 74
10. A&M-COMMERCE – 70
11. Lamar – 53
12. 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 COLONELS
Nicholls enters Saturday's match with a record of 7-14 overall and 2-8 in conference play. The Colonels swept New Orleans for their two wins in conference play and downed Grambling, South Carolina State, ULM, Southern, and Alcorn in non-conference play. Nicholls has won three in a row over the Lions, including both matchups last season, which were the only two conference wins for the Colonels. This season, Tierney Terrell leads the team with 160 kills, Ava-Claire Calais is the team leader in assists with 311 and Kenley Nonato has 292 digs.