DENTON, Texas – For the second consecutive game, Texas Woman's tried to stop another nationally ranked opponent in #22 Texas A&M - Commerce Tuesday, but could only take one set in a 3-1 loss (14-25, 25-17, 15-25, 17-25).
 
The Lions dominated the first set, tearing out on an early 12-0 run before freshman Trixie Oche and senior Makayla Mayfield teamed up for the block to put the Pioneers back on the board at 5-14. The effort would not be enough to make a difference, however, with A&M-Commerce taking the first frame, 14-25, after holding TWU to a flatlined attack percentage.
 
The Pioneers (14-10, 6-8 LSC) would make a serious readjustment in the second set, turning around their dismal first set performance with a .382 hit percentage, an increased sideout percentage of 82 and strong defensive playing that led to long possessions, allowing them to put the Lions (19-5, 11-3 LSC) off-balance enough to bring in a 6-0 scoring run. 

"It's hard to lose when you hit and sideout that well," TWU head coach Jeff Huebner said of how the Pioneers were firing on all cylinders.

Texas Woman's stretched its lead to nine at 20-11 after a Taylor Frederick kill, a block from junior Caroline Noel and junior Katy Ranes, and a Lion attack error. Junior Courtney Noel's kill gave the Pioneers set point at 24-15 but the Lions fought back with Jaslyn Wacker getting a kill and then serving an ace, but her service error played in the Pioneers' favor, 25-17.

"Caroline came in and scored a few blocks for us off the bench," Huebner said. "Courtney played great. We didn't set her enough but she played with great energy. They were certainly the bright spot for our team tonight." 

In set three, TWU strung together six points and built a 13-5 lead.  Unfortunately, the Pioneers did not hold on to that success as the Lions made adjustments, scored 10 points in a row and went out in front 18-13. Miscommunications and lack of focus kept TWU from rallying and they dropped the third frame, 15-25, with a negative hitting percentage of -.065.
 
The Pioneers again started out strong in the fourth, holding a 13-12 lead but the Lions rebounded with an attack that pulled away as TWU collected more errors. Hitting .032, they dropped the last set, 17-25.

"The biggest issue with our team was focus and want-to," Huebner said. "Certainly too many errors, but I can handle certain errors when they're aggressive."

For the match, the Pioneers registered a hitting percent of .091 to the Lions' .258. Courtney Noel was TWU's top attacker, leading the game with 11 kills and 13 points.

"If we're going to have leadership from Courtney like that, we just need to get people on board," Huebner said. "But at least we've got someone going in the right direction right there."

With six conference, regular season contests remaining, TWU has two more home games and four on the road. They travel to Texas A&M-Kingsville (14-10, 6-7 LSC) Saturday for a 2 p.m. start.