THE RUNDOWN
DBU (10-5, 7-5) fell in straight sets to A&M-Commerce (11-8, 9-4) on Friday night in Commerce, Texas. The Lady Patriots struggled to overcome attack errors, finishing the match with a hitting percentage .154 lower than the Lions despite recording only one less kill. Halee Van Poppel paced all scorers on offense while also recording a block and six digs. The Lions tallied 13 blocks, one shy of a season-high.

DBU opened up a quick 6-1 advantage before the Lions settled in. After a 5-0 run gave Commerce the lead at 9-8, the Lady Patriots fought back and found themselves up 13-11 on an ace by Kayla Brock. In a set that featured several runs, A&M Commerce answered with a fiery 8-1 surge of their own. Down 19-14, DBU pieced together five straight to tie the frame. Despite the persistent effort, the Lions managed to make enough plays down the stretch to take a 25-21 win.

Both teams traded points throughout the second set, with neither side holding more than a two-point lead until the very end. A 4-0 run, capped by a Leah Palensky ace, swung the momentum in DBU's favor. It wouldn't last long, however, as the Lions connected on several feeds from setter Celeste Vela and ultimately closed out a second-consecutive 25-21 victory.

A&M-Commerce built up a 4-0 edge to start the third set, but a 9-1 response fueled by Van Poppel and Alyssa Parks gave DBU its largest lead since the opening minutes of the match. Audrey Nunes would help preserve that advantage at 14-11 with her third kill of the night before the Lions went to work. Staring down a seven-point scoreless stretch, DBU collected a pair of kills and an opposing error to cut the lead to one at 18-17. Another Commerce run brought the match to a precipice, paused briefly by a Sofia Black kill. The Lions notched the final two points to secure a 25-18 win.
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
 - Price Reeves posted DBU's highest hitting percentage with a .250 mark.
 - Kayla Brock and Aryn Walton each recorded 12 assists.
 - DBU will have to wait for another chance at snapping its current losing streak to A&M-Commerce. With no other regular season match scheduled against the Lions, that opportunity could potentially come in the Lone Star Conference tournament.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
14 – Kills by Halee Van Poppel, which led all players.
4 – Number of DBU players that accumulated at least 6 digs.
5 – DBU service aces.

HEAD COACH JORDAN FISH ON HAVING A QUICK TURNAROUND
"Tomorrow's match is our focus now. We will take away the good from tonight and be ready to bounce back tomorrow."

UP NEXT
DBU heads to Tyler, Texas, to play UT Tyler at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 30.