Texas A&M University-Commerce beat Southern Arkansas in three games on Tuesday night, moving to 12-3 on the year. Senior Alyssa Oberle was one of the top performers with 13 kills and seven digs.
The Lions won the first game 25-18, which turned out to be the easiest win out of the three. After a tightly fought contest which saw the teams drawn at 16-16, A&M-Commerce broke away to score seven unanswered points and eventually win the match.
Freshman Rachael Shelton tallied 11 assists in the second game of the match, on her way to 28 overall. That combined with six Oberle kills lead the Lions to a 25-22 win. Southern Arkansas’ Danielle Sneed, Maggie Glover and Michaela Scroggins recorded four kills each, adding a bit more pressure to the Lions’ frontline.
The final game of the match came down to the wire with the Lions just winning 32-30. Freshman Rachel Robertson got two of her 10 kills in the third game, and Terra Ousley more than doubled her total on the night. The most important Ousley kill was her last, which won the game for A&M-Commerce. The junior got underneath a high ball and softly hit it to her right, past two jumping Southern Arkansas blockers, and onto the court for the winning point.
“We had a few injuries tonight we battled through,” head coach Mark Pryor said about the game. “I was pleased with that, and I was pleased with the effort.”
Something else Pryor said was a factor in his team’s victory is the crowd. The Lions have won all three of their home games so far this season, and he said the crowd was one of the reasons.
“Tonight’s crowd was probably one of the best we’ve had all year,” he said.This game was the second time in a week A&M-Commerce has matched up against Southern Arkansas, winning both.
“It feels pretty good, but I don’t think we expected anything less,” Robertson said about the win. “It set the standard whenever we beat them in three. That was kind of our goal, because we knew we played them three times in the season.”
As a part of the seven freshmen that entered the volleyball program in the spring, Robertson has so far impressed with her efforts. She’s recorded 110 kills and 37 digs in the 2009 season.
Now, A&M-Commerce will begin Lone Star Conference play against Texas A&M-Kingsville on Thursday, Sept. 17. With the Lions predicted to finish eighth, it is important they at least put up a decent performance in their opening game.
“We’re excited,” senior Alyssa Oberle said. “We’ve got a good record, one of the best records we’ve had in a while, I’m sure. Mark (Pryor) has done a good job with us.”