Despite dropping the first two sets, the Texas A&M University-Commerce Lions rallied back to win the next three games to earn a 25-27, 18-25, 25-22, 25-23, 15-8, victory over Henderson State on Saturday morning.
“Absolutely, the only thing I’m pleased with is the outcome of the match,” said Lions head volleyball coach Mark Pryor. “I’m becoming very concerned with the way we are starting matches.”
The Lions have also fallen behind after the first game in their last eight matches, but have rebounded to win six, including three straight. The last time an A&M-Commerce team rebounded to win a match after falling behind 2-0 was against Central Oklahoma on Oct. 31, 2002.
The Lions now sit at 11-6 for the season, while Henderson State falls to 2-14. After starting the season 3-4, A&M-Commerce has reeled off eight wins in its last ten games.
Amy Addison collected 13 kills and 14 digs, Alyssa Oberle recorded 13 kills and 10 digs, Rachel Lance hit 17 kills and Morgan Ballard tallied 11 kills with a .417 hitting percentage to lead the Lions against the Lady Reddies. Lauren Flynn and Perla Faudoa also added double digit digs as well, with 16 and 11, respectively.
Flynn upped her season digs total to 348 and is inching closer to the A&M-Commerce career digs record. The Deer Park, Texas native has collected 1,614 for her career and needs just 30 more to take over the No. 1 spot.
Tania Liufau notched a game-high 19 kills to pace Henderson State. Quen Banks chipped in 16 and Tiffany Gunn added 13. Bethany Wright led all players with 30 digs.
The Lions return to Lone Star Conference play on Thursday at 7 p.m. against Eastern New Mexico in Portales, N.M.