A&M-Commerce soccer team stays undefeated

Soccer

In their first away match of the season, A&M-Commerce's women's soccer team posted a 1-0 win over Newman University of Wichita, Kan. Freshman Elle DeFreitas was the lone goal scorer, as the Lions extended their record to 2-0.

DeFreitas scored in just the third minute of the match with a 15 yard strike. The Jets actually had a 7-5 advantage on shots for the match.

A&M-Commerce returns home on Friday, Sept. 17, against Harding University.

Volleyball

The A&M-Commerce volleyball team competed in the TexAnn Invitational tournament in Stephenville, Texas, last Friday and Saturday. The Lions won only one of their three games in the Tarleton State hosted event, and are now 4-4 on the season.

They began with a 3-1 loss on Friday afternoon to the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. The Lions won the first set 25-13, as Freshman Jordan Neal had three service aces and the team hit a match-best .364 kill percentage.

The Falcons then took firm control of the match. Freshman Keeley Brogdon got three kills in her team's 25-15 win. She then continued to give A&M-Commerce problems in the third set, finishing with four kills in a 25-19 UTPB win.

A third Falcons win came in the fourth game, but A&M-Commerce did manage to put up a fight, only losing 25-23. For the Lions, seniors Terra Ousley and Naomi Mays both had 10 kills each. Neal continued to play the role of provider with 31 kills, and fellow freshman Dakota Crockett lead the team in digs with 15.

Brogdon finished with 10 kills for UTPB. The Falcons out-blocked A&M-Commerce 10.5 to 7.5 for the match.

The Friday evening match resulted in the Lions' only tournament win in the form of a 3-0 rout of St. Mary's University. Freshman Kayla Bond was the offensive leader in this match, as she finished with nine kills.

A&M-Commerce took the first match 25-19. Mays led the way with four kills and two service aces. They took the second set 25-15, and Bond got six of her kills in a 28-26 third set win to close out the match. Freshman Karlie Ortega was the offensive leader for St. Mary's, finishing the match with 13 kills.

On day two of the tournament, the Lions lost their solitary match to Southwest Baptist University 3-0. The Bearcats hit a season-high .382 hitting percentage in the match and dominated every set, winning 25-13, 25-15, and 25-17.

Junior Ashley Jurgensmeyer had 10 kills and had a whopping .909 hitting percentage for SBU. The Bearcats also out-blocked A&M-Commerce 6.5 to two in the match.

Bond led the Lions with eight kills while Mays added six more. Neal also had 24 assists in the loss.

The Lions now go on the road again this week. On Thursday, Sept. 16, they play West Texas A&M in their first Lone Star Conference match. They stay in conference the following Saturday, as they play Eastern New Mexico.

Cross Country

Senior Robert Reed was the top finisher among all Lions competitors at the UTA Season Opener cross country meet last Saturday. His time of 21:17.20 helped the A&M-Commerce men's team finish fourth overall.

Freshmen Everett Wilder and Tyler Hemenway finished 17th and 19th, respectively. Another freshman, Alex Kimp finished with a time of 22:13.39.

While last season senior Kate Donovan would usually top the A&M-Commerce women's standings, freshman Carolyn Bell led the way on this particular weekend. Bell placed 34th with a time of 13:04.20. Donovan's time of 13:39.82 was good enough for 41st, while sophomore Jenny Spear and senior Jamie Hays finished in 44th and 51st, respectively.