The Lions and TexAnns will face each other for the third time this season in the First Round of the Lone Star Conference Tournament in the four versus five match-up. The winner gets a shot at the number one seed and host, West Texas A&M.
SERIES SCORE
Texas A&M University-Commerce and Tarleton State split the season series between the sides with each team winning on their home floor. Tarleton State came back from a 2-0 hole, winning the last three sets on Oct. 19. The Lions beat the TexAnns when they came to Commerce in four sets last Tuesday, Nov. 12. The last time these two teams played in the LSC Tournament was back in 2008, when the TexAnns swept the Lions in Stephenville.
SCOUTING THE TEXANNS
Tarleton State comes into the LSC Tournament 2-3 in their last five games with wins over Angelo State and A&M-Kingsville. Stacie Murrah leads the attack for the TexAnns with 370 kills on the season a 3.43 kills per set average. Jasmine Green is second on the team with 258 kills and a 2.61 kills per set average. Danielle Barker is the setter for Tarleton State. Barker has 1166 assists on the season and is averaging 10.8 per set.
SECOND MOST HELPERS
Senior setter Jordan Neal has now recorded the second most assists in a single season with 1,341. She passed Kristi Phillips with her 29 assists versus West Texas A&M. Neal is 203 from the Lion all-time single season record.
RUNNING AWAY WITH A NEW RECORD
Earlier this season Neal became the Lions all-time leader in assists, breaking Melissa Staiger's record of 3,843. After that mark was reached Neal then became the first Lion to 4,000 assists in a career. Now Neal is trying to make sure her record stands for a long time. Heading into the postseason Neal has 1,341 this season and 4,386 in her career, which is third among active Division II players in assists.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE WITH A FEW MORE ZEROS
Adding to her list of accomplishments, Neal is also the fifth player in Lion history with over 1,000 in at least two major categories. Toni Skipalis has over 1,000 in three categories (assists, digs, kills), Amy Maddox, Melanie Rea and Sara Wedburg all over 1,000 in kills and digs.
ACE!
Neal is also fourth on the Lion all-time service aces list with 132 in her career.
NOT TODAY
Fellow senior Kayla Bond is making her mark on the Lion record books as well. Bond is tied for sixth on the Total Blocks all-time list with Christy Edmond with 298 in a career.
NO WASTED EFFORT
Bond has also been efficient on the offense for the Lions. Her .320 hitting percentage is the eighth best mark in program history for a single season.
IMPACT NEWCOMER
Amy Davault has had a very good first season for the Lions after transferring from UT-Arlington. Davault leads the team in kills (392) and kills per set (3.41). Davault is also second on the team in digs with 397. Freshman Li'I Etimani is also having an impact in her first season on campus. Etimani is fifth on the team in digs (179) and has recorded 13 aces this season.
TEAM EFFORT
The Lions are the second best hitting team in the LSC, trailing only West Texas A&M, with their .215 percentage. A&M-Commerce leads the LSC in total aces (163) and aces per set (1.42). The Lions also lead the LSC in kills per set as a team with 13.88.
LIONS AMONG LSC LEADERS
Neal leads the LSC in assists (1,341) and assists per set (11.66). Davault is third in kills per set (3.41). Bond is fourth in hitting percentage (.320). Breanne Snyder is second in service aces per set (.37).
