STEPHENVILLE, Texas (Nov. 17, 2017) - Sixth-seeded Texas Woman's University volleyball advanced to the Lone Star Conference championship match for the third time in program history and first since 1997 with a 3-2 win over second-seeded Texas A&M-Commerce (25-23, 20-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-11) led by career-highs of 25 kills and 24 digs from Miri Shade and double-doubles from Shade, Makayla Mayfield and Katy Ranes Friday evening inside Wisdom Gymnasium on the campus of Tarleton State.
 
TWU will now take on host and No. 1 seed Tarleton State at 3 p.m. Saturday for a chance at an LSC Tournament Championship and automatic berth in the South Central Regional Tournament.
 
The Pioneers (16-17, 10-10 LSC) have made two appearances in the LSC championship contest, with the first occurring in 1992 where they were defeated by Angelo State, 3-1, and then in 1997 where they lost to West Texas A&M, 3-1.
 
Against TAMUC (21-10, 15-5), Shade improved upon the kills career-high she set last night in the win versus Angelo State by one and notched her 11^th double-double of the season. Mayfield posted 10 kills and 14 digs in her eighth double-double of the year, and Ranes registered 42 kills and 11 digs for her ninth double-double of 2017. Erin Jones found her career-high in digs with 23.
 
A rally by TWU in set one turned a 16-10 deficit in a tie game at 16-all, and a kill by Courtney Noel handed the Pioneers their first lead of the evening at 19-18. A Shade kill tied the contest at 23-all and was finished off by two Commerce errors.
 
TAMUC pulled ahead 14-9 in set two before a Bailey French service ace closed the Pioneers to within 18-17. A kill by Mayfield made it 21-19 in favor of the Lions, but Commerce scored the final four points while TWU managed just one.
 
Kills from Ranes, Noel and Shade opened set three, and the Pioneers held a 15-11 advantage after a block by Caroline Noel and Shade. Four straight points by TWU produced a 22-14 lead, and a pair of TAMUC errors finished the set.
 
The Pioneers built a 20-14 lead in the fourth set before TWU offense stalled. A Shade kill produced the only point the rest of the way as the Lions scored the final six points to send the match to a decisive fifth set.
 
Back-to-back kills from Shade put the Pioneers up 4-2 in the final set, and an unsuspecting kill to the middle by Ranes kept TWU ahead at 5-4. Consecutive kills by Briley Cole-Lewis and Mayfield gave the Pioneers a 7-5 advantage, and a Lion ball handling error along with a Courtney Noel kill increased the lead to 10-6. Three Pioneer attack errors dwindled the margin to 12-11, but TWU was helped out by a Commerce serving error on the next play to make it 13-11. Courtney Noel put down on kill on a slide for match-point, and Mayfield served up an ace for the semifinal victory.
 
Head Coach Jeff Huebner said, "What a great match of toughness from our team. We made several comebacks throughout the match. Miri was phenomenal again and our defense was terrific with Bailey and EJ (Erin Jones) really anchoring the wings. Looking for an opportunity to play in a conference championship tomorrow."