TAMUC – Sports

No. 20 Lions split day, pick up a 3-1 win over Mississippi College.

ARKADELPHIA, Ark.– The No. 20 Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team picked up one win and one loss in the second day of the Reddie/Tiger Invitational on Saturday. After falling in five sets to Ouachita Baptist, the Lions bounced back to defeat Mississippi College in four later in the day. 

The results bring the Lions to 3-1 on the season. 

A&M-Commerce returns to action next weekend in the Colorado Premier Challenge in Denver. They begin on Friday with a matchup against the defending national champion Tampa at Noon CT. 

HEAD COACH CRAIG CASE AFTER THE MATCHES

– On the team’s first game: Ouachita played us really tough this afternoon and did a great job of getting us out of sync. We were never really able to get anything going and sustain runs like we normally do. They did a great job of exposing our weaknesses and should give us some stuff to focus on as we continue our efforts to improve.”

– On the team’s bounceback win in game two: “It was good to have the opportunity to get back on the court today and start addressing our weaknesses. Mississippi College is a really talented team, and their style of play really attacked our weaknesses.”

– Overall thoughts on the day: “I feel good that we were able to identify adjustments needed and then executed those adjustments. Hopefully, we used our loss and win today to get better.”

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (OBU)

– Shelley Chapron (Houston – St. Pius X) led the team with 19 kills, hitting .486.

– Bina Njikam (Keller) added 14 kills, hitting .310. Sydney Andersen (Placentia, Calif.) and Maiya Dickie (Huntsville) added nine kills apiece.

– Savannah Rutledge (The Woodlands – College Park) led the team with 20 digs. Ashley Pennington (Frisco – Liberty) had 12 digs and 23 assists.

– Natalie Sarbeck (Cypress – Cy Fair) led the team with 30 assists. 

HOW IT HAPPENED (OBU)

The Lions got off to a strong start, winning five of the first seven points of the match. OBU then went on a run to take the lead. The teams traded points until the midway mark, as the teams were still tied at 13-all. OBU then began to pull away, taking the first set 25-19 

The teams battled throughout the second set, as the Lions took an early advantage before again having OBU make a run to tie the set. The Lions fell behind late but rallied just in time to win the set 25-23, winning the final five points of the set. 

The Lions built an early lead in the third set before OBU took several points in a row to take the lead back. After falling behind by four, the Lions then rallied to take a 12-11 lead at the halfway mark. The teams then traded points for several minutes, including a 3-0 rally for each team. With the set tied at 19, the Lions then made a push late, taking the set 25-21. 

The Lions built an early lead in the fourth set, pushing their lead to 7-3. OBU fought back with a long rally to take a 15-8 lead. The Lions stemmed the tide and began a 5-1 rally of their own to cut the OBU lead to three points. However, A&M-Commerce could not keep the momentum in their favor and fell 25-20. 

OBU took three of the first four points of the final set before the Lions battled back. The Lions scored six points in seven serves to take a 9-6 lead. OBU battled back and tied the match at 11 late. The teams traded points for several frames, extending the set into extra points. However, OBU got the two-point rally it needed to earn the win. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (Mississippi College)

– Shelley Chapron again led the team with 20 kills, hitting .600 in the match. She also had a team-high eight blocks.

– Nicki Gonelli (Round Rock – Stony Point) had 11 kills while Sydney Andersen and Bina Njikam each had 10 kills.

– The Lions hit .333 as a team in the match.

– Savannah Rutledge led the team with 14 digs while Riley Davidson (Commerce) added 11 digs.

– Natalie Sarbeck had 32 assists in the match, with Shelbi Sheppard (Emory – Rains) adding 18 assists. 

HOW IT HAPPENED (Mississippi College)

The Lions started the match on a tear, scoring five of the first seven points. After the Choctaws rallied to cut the lead to one, the Lions began a 7-0 rally to take control of the set for good. The Lions led by as many as 13 in the set, taking the first set 25-13. 

The teams traded points early in the second set, as the teams were tied at five early. MC then went on a run, pushing their lead to six points. The Lions cut the lead to as low as four points but could not rally to take the set. 

The teams traded short rallies to begin the third set, with the score remaining close until the midway mark. The Lions went on a run to take a five-point advantage before the Choctaws responded, eventually tying the match at 23-all. The set went into extra points, with the Lions scoring three points in a row to take the set 26-24. 

The Lions opened the fourth set on a big rally, scoring seven points in a row early to take a commanding lead. The Lions slowly continued to build their lead, running away with the final set 25-13.

 

No. 13 Lions open Bailiff era with 83-0 win over Nuevo León.

COMMERCE – The No. 13 Texas A&M University-Commerce football team gave head coach David Bailiff a victory in his first game as the Lions’ head coach, running away with an 83-0 win over Selección Nuevo León.

The Lions move to 1-0 on the season and travel to Western Oregon (0-1) next Saturday for a 1:05 p.m. PDT (3:05 p.m. CDT) kickoff in Monmouth, Ore.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
– The Lions had 411 yards of offense and averaged 11.4 yards per play on 36 offensive plays.
– Quarterback Miklo Smalls (Plano – East) completed all four of his passes for 103 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Kelan Smith (Dallas – First Baptist) and Tyler Guice (Atlanta, Ga.) were on the receiving end of Smalls’ touchdown passes.
– Spencer Long (Mont Belvieu – Barbers Hill) had seven carries for 73 yards and a score and Antonio Lealiiee (Copperas Cove) carried the ball eight times for 65 yards and two touchdowns. The Lions had six rushing touchdowns, as Jaquorious Smith (Kilgore), J.T. Smith (Klein – Oak), and E.J. Thompson (Cy-Ranch) each had rushing scores.
– JaQuorious Smith also opened the second half with a 70-yard kickoff return for a score. Kader Kohou (Euless – Trinity) had a 66-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
– Devin Beamon (Forney – North Forney) made a tackle for safety as one of 22 Lion tackles for losses on 41 Nuevo León plays.
– Tali Amosa (Melbourne, Australia) had five tackles, all for loss, with a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery for the Lions’ final touchdown.
– Amosa, Kohou, and Christian Wise (Houston – Bellaire) had fumble recoveries, and Dominique Ramsey (Converse – Judson) and L.A. Dawson (Austin – LBJ) had interceptions.
– The Lions rotated kickers with Jake Viquez (Rockwall) making a 24-yard field goal and nine PATs, and Andrew Gomez (Richardson) made a 27-yard field goal.
– The Lion defense limited Nuevo León to minus-83 yards of offense, with losses of 80 yards in rushing. Nuevo León did not gain a first down in the game.

CLICK HERE to view Head Coach David Bailiff’s postgame comments

 

Kemboi & Lion men take East Texas Shootout title, Lion women place second.

COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce cross country teams opened the 2019 season. They were the host to the East Texas Shootout at Centennial Park on Saturday morning, with the men’s team taking the championship and the women’s team placing second. 

MEN’S RACE (8k) – FULL RESULTS

The men’s team had four top 10 finishes to score 36 points, edging out regionally-ranked Dallas Baptist by two points for the team title 

Timon Kemboi (Eldoret, Kenya) claimed the individual championship in his first collegiate cross country race, finishing the eight-kilometer course in 25:54.59 – over 37 seconds quicker than the next collegiate competitor. 

Cooper Miller (Big Spring) placed fifth in his first collegiate race at 26:42.45, followed by Alabama transfer Octopias Ndiwa (Eldoret, Kenya) in sixth place at 26:44.34. 

Garvin Chilton (Katy) placed eighth at 26:47.23 and AJ Tillman (Sachse) placed 24th and scored in 19th to close out the Lions’ first-team championship since 2016 

WOMEN’S RACE (5k) – FULL RESULTS

The Lion seniors stood out as A&M-Commerce scored 57 points to finish behind a powerful Dallas Baptist team. 

Brandi Stalder (Sanger) placed sixth in the race at 19:10.74 as one of only seven racers to finish in under 20 minutes. 

Maddie Shubert (Rowlett) finished in 11th place at 20:16.12 and Mallory Morgan (Katy) placed 14th at 20:44.23. Freshman Cassidy Seaney (Miller Grove) placed 20th in her collegiate debut at 21:53.33, while fellow freshman Evelyn Brown (Paris) placed 33rd at 23:47.57, and Shelby White (Eustace) placed 35th at 24:06.83 

The Lions have two weeks before their next race, when they compete in the Missouri Southern Stampede in Joplin, Mo., on Saturday, September 21.

CLICK HERE for head coach George Pincock’s post-race comments

 

 

No. 20 Lions sweep St. Edward’s, rally to defeat Henderson State in the opening day of the season.

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ARKADELPHIA, Ark.– The No. 20 Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team picked up a pair of wins in the first day of Reddie-Tiger Invitational on Friday. The Lions swept their match 3-0 against St. Edward’s early in the day and rallied from behind to defeat host Henderson State 3-2. 

The No. 20 Lions (2-0) will play two more matches at the Invitational on Saturday, facing Ouachita Baptist (1-1) on their home floor at Noon before returning to Henderson State’s court to face Mississippi College (1-1) at 4:00 pm. 

HEAD COACH CRAIG CASE ON THE MATCHES

– On the team play overall: “I was really pleased with our returners and how they held the standard, they pushed us forward. And today we had a lot of players play their first games as Lion volleyball players, and we got great performances from a lot of our newer players as well.”

– On getting some key bench performances in game two: “We had Nicki Gonelli and Taryn Cast come in off the bench in that second match, and they helped us win the match. Every play they were involved in that fourth set was a great play. I’m happy with those two being ready off the bench, they came up big and helped us win.”

– On picking up a five-set road win: “With as many new players as we had, to get a come-from-behind road win this early in the season, that is a really good sign. I was proud of how our team handled adversity both on and off the court today. When things were not going well, people responded the way we wanted them to. That’s exciting.” 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (St. Edward’s)

– Shelley Chapron (Houston – St. Pius X) had 10 kills, hitting .333 in the match. She also led the team with six blocks.

Sydney Andersen (Placentia, Calif.) also had 10 kills, hitting .316.

– Keziah Williams (Branson, Mo.) and Maiya Dickie (Huntsville) had five kills apiece. Dickie also had five blocks.

– The Lions had 12 service aces in the match, seven of which came from Daniela Santos (Caracas, Venezuela).

– Natalie Sarbeck (Cypress – Cy-Fair) led the team with 21 assists and co-led the team with 11 digs. Savannah Rutledge (The Woodlands – College Park) also had 11 digs. 

HOW IT HAPPENED (St. Edward’s)

It was an even start to the first set, as the teams traded points early. Chapron and Andersen had a pair of early kills as the Lions established a three-point advantage. The Hilltoppers battled back to tie the match at 12 midway through. The teams traded rallies as SEU took a 3-point lead before the Lions battled with three consecutive kills to tie the set. Trailing by one, Santos had consecutive aces, and the Lions scored the final four points of the set to win 25-22. 

 The Lions got off to a strong start to the second set, taking five of the first six points. The Hilltoppers battled to close the gap to 13-11 midway through the game. After SEU cut the Lion lead to one point, the Lions finished the set on a tear, scoring nine of the final 10 points to take set two. 

After splitting the first eight points of the third set, the Lions once again began to take control, scoring six of the next seven points. The Lions also scored seven points in nine serves to push their lead to eight. A&M-Commerce scored the final three points of the set to win 25-15, sweeping the match. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (Henderson State)

– Shelley Chapron led all players with a career-high 25 kills in the match. She hit .564 while also tallying a team-high seven blocks.

– Bina Njikam (Keller) had 14 kills, hitting .333. Maiya Dickie added eight kills and co-led the team with seven blocks.

– Savannah Rutledge led the team with 32 digs, while also adding six assists. Riley Davidson (Commerce) added 22 digs.

– Natalie Sarbeck led the team with 32 assists and also had two aces. Ashley Pennington (Frisco – Liberty) added 20 assists and an ace. 

HOW IT HAPPENED (Henderson State)

The Lions started the first set on a tear, taking the first eight points in a row, and 11 of the first 12 points. Chapron had multiple kills in the rally. The Lions had another 7-0 rally as they pushed their lead to as many as 16 points in the set. The Lions won the first set 25-11. 

The teams traded points early in the second set before HSU put together a rally, scoring six of seven points to take a 10-5 lead. The Lions battled back, scoring five points in a row, including multiple kills from Andersen to tie the set midway through. With the set tied at 17, the Reddies put together a rally to put the set out of reach, winning the second set 25-20. 

The Reddies started the third set well, scoring 11 of the first 14 points. The Lions then rallied, scoring six of the next seven points to cut the lead to two points. The Lions cut the Reddies’ lead to one on multiple occasions but could not bridge the gap and fell in the set 25-20. 

It was again an evenly matched start to the fourth set, as both teams traded rallies to bring the first score to 8-all. The Lions then had three consecutive kills to take the lead, and another three-point rally to take a 16-11 lead. The Lions continued their active play, winning the set 25-17 to force a fifth set. 

In the final set, the Lions came out firing and never let up. They took the first four points and ended the match on an 8-1 run to win the set 15-5.

 

Josh Manck

Associate Athletics Director for Marketing and Communications | Texas A&M University-Commerce

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Marcus Jensen

Director of Athletic Communications | Texas A&M University-Commerce

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