Lions fight back to take the five-set win over DBU in the season opener

COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team took the court for the first time in 425 days and had to fight all night before taking a five-set win over visiting Dallas Baptist University on Tuesday night in the Field House. 

Set scores were 25-27, 25-16, 27-29, 25-15, and 15-5. The Lions are now 1-0 overall and 1-0 in Lone Star Conference action, while DBU falls to 0-3 overall and 0-3 in the LSC. 

The same two teams will complete the Central Division series in the Field House at 6:00 pm Wednesday. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

– The Lions hit .150 with 59 kills in the match, while DBU hit .034 with 41 kills.

– Sydney Andersen (Placentia, Calif.) had a double-double with team-highs in kills (16) and digs (20), while also adding four service aces and a block.

– Maiya Dickie (Huntsville) threw down a career-high 15 kills and chipped in on seven blocks.

– Riley Davidson (Commerce) tied for the team lead with 20 digs, while Natalie Sarbeck (Cy-Fair) had a double-double with 29 assists and 14 digs.

– The Lions were the dominant team at the net with 13 blocks to DBU’s seven.

HOW IT HAPPENED

As the Lions knocked off the nerves and rust from over a year away from the action, neither team could get a lead of more than three points in the opening set. The first frame featured 13 ties and three lead changes, with two of those lead changes in extra points. Late in the set, the Lions were trailing 24-21 before rattling off four straight points to take a 25-24 lead on a Dickie kill. Unfortunately for the Lions, that lead would disappear as DBU closed the set with three straight points to take the opener, 27-25. DBU hit .136 in the set while A&M-Commerce struggled to a .020 percentage with 12 kills and 11 errors. 

In the second set, the Lions used a strong serve performance from Andersen late to tie the match up. The Lions held a narrow advantage at 17-16 before closing the set with eight straight points. Andersen had two aces, and Dickie had two kills in the final eight-point run, which resulted in a 25-16 A&M-Commerce set win. The Lions with .162 in the set with 10 kills while limiting DBU to minus-.068 with eight kills and 11 errors. 

The third set was another nail-biter, featuring 11 ties and six lead changes. A&M-Commerce held a 17-12 lead, but DBU could chip away and eventually tie the set at 21-all. The Lions had set point first after a combo block by Nicki Gonelli (Round Rock – Stony Point) and Taryn Cast (Peaster), but DBU avoided the loss twice. The visitors took the lead at 27-26 before A&M-Commerce fought off set point on a Cast kill, but DBU took two straight points to go ahead by two sets to one at 29-27. DBU hit .140 in the set with 14 kills, while A&M-Commerce hit .121 with 18 kills and 11 errors. 

The Lions had no such problems in the fourth set, cruising out to an 11-3 lead and never looking back. DBU could not narrow the margin back below seven points during the set, as A&M-Commerce sent the game to the deciding set with a 25-15 win. The Lions hit .360 in the set with 13 kills against four errors, while DBU hit .000, notching both six kills and six errors. 

A&M-Commerce took that momentum into the fifth set, rushing to an 11-2 lead, thanks to DBU errors and a pair of Andersen aces. Cast had three kills against no errors in the set, and DBU could not record a kill. The Patriots hit minus-.308 in the set with four errors on 13 attempts, while A&M-Commerce had six kills and hit .312 in the frame.

Lions hold at No. 7 in the national TFRI Ratings Index.

NEW ORLEANS – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s indoor track and field team remains ranked seventh nationally in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association (USTFCCCA) rating index. 

The TFRI is calculated based on performances in the 2021 indoor season on the national descending order list. The Lions are also ranked third in the South Central Region (PDF) using the TFRI method. 

The Lions received eight marks, which rank in the top ten nationally. Ushan Perera (Mahabage, Sri Lanka) leads the nation in the high jump with his 2.21 meter (7-foot-3) school-record mark. 

Lamarion Arnold (Montgomery, Ala.) ranks second nationally in the 200-meter dash (21.24 seconds) and sixth nationally in the 60-meter dash (6.82 seconds). 

Micky Ferdinand (Micoud, St. Lucia) ranks second in the high jump (2.11m, 6-11) and 15th nationally in the pole vault (4.83m, 15-10). 

Dorian Andrews (Dallas – Skyline) ranks fifth nationally in the 60-meter hurdles at 8.09 seconds, and Trayveon Franklin (Montgomery) ranks eighth nationally in the triple jump at 14.79 meters (48- 6 1/4)

The Lions have one weekend of action remaining in the regular season before the Lone Star Conference Championships. A&M-Commerce will have split-squad action in Kansas on February 12 & 13 at the Gorilla Classic at Pittsburg State and the Ichabod Invitational at Washburn.

2021 USTFCCA NTFRI – Full Ranking and Details (PDF)
February 2 (Week 2)

Rank	School	Points
1	West Texas A&M	171.09
2	Ashland	166.44
3	Grand Valley State	164.71
4	Lee (Tenn.)	141.04
5	Central Missouri	121.39
6	Northwest Missouri State	115.04
7	A&M-COMMERCE	104.69
8	Colorado School of Mines	103.65
9	Colorado-Colorado Springs	103.41
10	Colorado State-Pueblo	83.85
11	Tiffin	77.93
12	Findlay	67.05
13	Harding	64.41
14	Northwood (Mich.)	48.68
15	Nebraska-Kearney	48.39
16	Pittsburg State	42.99
17	Alabama-Huntsville	40.75
18	Lindenwood	39.93
19	Missouri Southern	39.32
20	Washburn	37.70
21	Fort Hays State	34.43
22	Northern State	34.19
23	Colorado Christian	26.80
24	Minnesota State	25.96
25	UNC Pembroke	25.32

Lions ranked No. 10 nationally in the initial WBCA poll.

LILBURN, Ga. – The Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s basketball team is ranked 10th nationally in the WBCA NCAA Division II Coaches’ Poll, the first coaches’ poll released in the 2020-21 season. 

The Lions are 8-1 overall in the 2020-21 season and received 305 points. It is the first coaches’ poll released in March of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

A&M-Commerce is one of three Lone Star Conference teams ranked in the top 25 nationally, joined by No. 2 Lubbock Christian and No. 8 West Texas A&M. 

A&M-Commerce will play a North Division series against Texas Woman’s University this week, starting with a home game at 5:00 pm Thursday. 

WBCA NCAA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll — Feb. 2, 2021

Rank	School	Record	Total Points	1st Place Votes
1	Drury	10-0	573	21
2	Lubbock Christian	9-0	550	2
3	Lander	9-0	434	0
4	Charleston, WV	8-0	428	0
5	Valdosta State	12-1	384	0
6	Minnesota Duluth	5-0	371	0
7	Hawaii Pacific	3-0	359	0
8	West Texas A&M	10-1	334	0
9	Cedarville	14-1	324	0
10	A&M-COMMERCE	8-1	305	0
11	Fort Hays State	11-2	269	0
12	Nebraska Kearney	12-2	255	0
13	Carson-Newman	7-1	241	0
14	Western Colorado	8-1	238	0
15	Grand Valley State	8-1	218	0
16	North Georgia	8-1	205	0
17	Southwestern Oklahoma State	9-1	203	0
18	Daemen	4-1	198	0
19	Arkansas Tech	6-0	181	0
20	Glenville State	6-1	180	0
21	Central Missouri	12-2	171	0
22	Tusculum	11-1	141	0
23	Southern Indiana	10-2	118	0
24	Truman State	11-2	115	0
25	Gannon	5-1	81	0

Others receiving votes: Benedict (2-0) 80; Union, TN (9-3) 70; Belmont Abbey (10-2) 63; Michigan Tech (8-1) 58; East Central (8-1) 43; Emporia State (9-3) 33; American International (3-1) 30; Colorado Mines (10-2) 27; Notre Dame, OH (6-1) 26; Sioux Falls (5-2) 26; Walsh (7-3) ; Ashland (6-3) 20; Azusa Pacific (2-2) 16; Catawba (5-1) 9; Virginia-Wise (8-1) 8; Colorado Mesa (10-3) 7; Midwestern State (7-3) 6. Eight teams were mentioned on only one ballot for a total of 53 combined points.