Sept. 28, 2005

COMMERCE - Although the Texas A&M University-Commerce women's volleyball team left Arkadelphia, Ark., without a victory Tuesday, the Lions certainly continued their march in the right direction.

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The highly contested match was decided with extended play in the final two games. Unfortunately for the Lions, fortunes favored the Lady Reddies as they won on scores of 30-15, 37-35, and 32-30. Some of the more important highlights for A&M-Commerce were a 5-0 run off a service from Amy Addison that gave the Lions a brief 29-28 lead in the second game and a kill from Tosha Spain in the final game that tied things up at 30-all. Both games the Lions were able to recover from early setbacks and nearly sealed a second victory over Henderson State this season.

The competition doesn't let up the rest of the week. Texas Woman's (7-11) is coming Thursday to the A&M-Commerce Field House with an even 1-1 record in the Lone Star Conference.

Midwestern State is having one of the school's best ever starts to a season. With a 3-0 win Tuesday over Dallas Baptist, MSU improved to 14-5 overall with 1-1 record in the LSC, already tying a 1996 and 2003 mark for the most wins in a season.

Jane Latu and Colleen Favaro have been some of the most consistent players for the Lions. Latu, a junior from Wautaga, continues to lead the Lions in kills (2.94 per game). Sporting a team-high 23.9 attack percentage, Favaro averages 2.82 kills per game. Her hitting percentage is good for 10th in the LSC.

The continued improvement in defensive play has led the Lions to be ranked fourth for opponent hitting percentage in conference play. They also rank as one of the top teams in conference play for digs as well as blocks.

Overall, Jackie Orr has adjusted well splitting time at libero and setter. She ranks eighth in the conference in digs (4.06) and averages just over 10 assists per game in five games at setter.

Floor captain Alicia Capparelli has the primary setting responsibilities. She had a season-high 48 assists in the first meeting with Henderson State in early September.

Freshman Brittany Williams packs one of the hardest hitting attacks for the Lions as she continues to refine her accuracy, leading the team with 13 kills on Tuesday. She stands second on the team in kills (120) and first in service aces at 26.

THE PIONEERS

Texas Woman's offers a three-pronged attack from their strikers, each with better than 2.5 kills per game. Robin Hawkins leads the way with 3.6 kills per game as freshman Kandis Schroeder (2.6) and former junior college all-America nominee Nicole Everett (2.56) are just behind. First-team all-LSC selection Carley Messmer offers up 9.93 assists per game.

THE SERIES

The Lions hold the all-time series lead with a 34-22 advantage dating back to A&M-Commerce's first season of volleyball in 1978.

ALL-TIME SERIES RECORD

Years vs Texas Woman's
1978-79 4-2
1980-89 13-7
1990-99 10-10
2000-2004 7-3
Total 34-22

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