In their first home matches of the 2007 season, the Texas A&M University – Commerce volleyball teams showed a strong presence all over the court.
The Lions hosted Southern Arkansas on Saturday, and won the non-conference match in three straight sets, 30-20, 30-28, 30-24.
During the match, outside hitter Colleen Favaro broke the school record for career kills. Coming into the match, Favaro only needed 15 kills to break the school record of 1,516, previously held by Amy Wallace.
In the win, A&M-C (5-9) hit a season-high .360. Joining Favaro joined in double figures, were middle blocker Wannie Neal, who added 10 kills, and setter Brittany Williams, who had 37 service assists for the Lions.
During the first home game for the 2007 season on Thursday, the Lions won in five sets, 30-23, 30-27, 28-30, 37-35 over the Southeastern Oklahoma Savage Storm. With the win, the Lions were 4-9 overall, 1-2 in Lone Star Conference play.
“We have had 12 games on the road, and it feels good to be home,” Williams said.
With the crowd noise and the intense rallies between the Lions and the Savage Storm lasting through the last dozen points of the fourth set, the crowd seemed to have an urgency about not wanting to bring the match to a fifth set.
Key plays from several Lions helped the Lions win the set, and gain a win in the process.
Favaro, who had a game-high 24 kills, eclipsed the 1,500 mark during the match. In previous seasons, Favaro has played middle blocker, but changed to outside hitter this season.
“I thought we played really well, we came together as a team, defensively we played really well,” Favaro said.
Williams who had a match-high 44 assists in the game, is also adapting to a new position; Williams plays setter, as opposed to past seasons, when she has played middle blocker.
“It’s different, before, I could control the direction the ball went, now I can actually control who gets the ball.”
Libero Lauren Flynn recorded 25 digs for the Lions, and reflected on what the remainder of the season looks like for the Lions.
“We are definitely going to have a lot harder opponents, but I think this win really showed what we have. I think this win is going to carry onto other wins, because we know what it takes to win a game,” Flynn said.
Also in the win, was outside hitter Rachel Lance, who had a career-high 12 kills. As a team, the Lions recorded 11 service aces and 11 blocks in the win.
“The goal going into the next few weeks and the rest of conference is to lower the number of unforced errors, and finishing the match as we start,” Weatherford said.
The Lions will return to the court and Lone Star Conference action today when they travel to Stephenville to take on Tarleton State in a 7 p.m. match.