Sept. 22, 2005

COMMERCE - The Texas A&M University-Commerce women's volleyball team is just beginning the heart of the season with Lone Star Conference now underway. Resuming again with North Division foes, the Lions take on Southwestern Oklahoma State for a Saturday afternoon match at the A&M-Commerce Field House.

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Now while the Lions have dropped five matches in a row, a return home could just what they need to turn around the recent drought. In the home opener against Henderson State, the Lions rallied for a come-from-behind victory in five games. It was also their last win. More importantly, it was a complete team effort as four Lions tallied double figures in kills.

That's been an ingredient A&M-Commerce has been missing of late on the road, struggling with inconsistent play from the fresh-faced squad.

And lately, the two freshmen are beginning to make their mark. Brittany Williams has four matches with double-digit matches in kills and led the Lions with nine in a loss to a very talented St. Mary's team.

Regan Jesse had her best match of the season, her career for that matter, with 10 kills and and 18 digs on Tuesday in Durant, Okla., against Southeastern Oklahoma State. And besides just the figures she posted, her service at the end of the first game nearly gave the Lions the opening game. And despite losing that game, Jesse's service gave the Lions an added boost to open Game 2.

"She was very ready to play," head coach Gwen Weatherford said of Jesse. From her pre-game warm-up, "She was phenomenal. She was just ready to play."

What cost the Lions was surrendering a 28-22 lead in the second game on eight consecutive points by the Lady Savages. From there, the Lions came back to claim the third game but dropped the final game.

THE BULLDOGS

Southwestern Oklahoma State is a first-year program under the direction of former A&M-Commerce student assistant Bo Pagliasotti. The Bulldogs have accumulated three wins on the season, with two coming over Oklahoma Panhandle and another over Friends University.

Friday's match against Southeastern Oklahoma State will be a challenge for the program, but look to Kasandra Gurtner to lead the team offensively. She has a 2.79 average for kills per game and also a team-best .163 attack mark. Tiffany Shedrock averages just under 10 assists per game.

Their biggest slight this season has been their defense. They have given up over 100 service aces and are out-blocked by nearly 50 percent by their opponents.

The only opponent both teams have played is Angelo State. The Lions won their game 3-2, while the Bulldogs were swept in three games.

FRIDAY'S MATCH CANCELED

Texas A&M University-Commerce's volleyball match at home against St. Edward's has been canceled due to a lack of available travel accommodations as a result of Hurricane Rita, the Athletic Department announced today.

At the moment, there have been no plans made to reschedule. It's just one of at least five matches in the Lone Star Conference that have been moved or canceled altogether.

Saturday's LSC North match against Southwestern Oklahoma State is still set to begin at 2 p.m. in the A&M-Commerce Field House.

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