Texas A&M–Commerce Lions women's volleyball

The Texas A&M–Commerce Lions women's volleyball team (formerly the East Texas State Lions) is the women's intercollegiate volleyball program representing Texas A&M University–Commerce. The school competes in the Southland Conference (SLC) in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). For the first 44 years of existence, they competed in the Lone Star Conference of Division II. The A&M–Commerce women's volleyball team plays its home games at the University Field House on the university campus in Commerce, Texas. The Lions have won two conference regular-season titles, an LSC tournament championship, and have appeared in the NCAA tournament on six occasions, three times during the tenure of head coach Kathy Goodlett (1983–89) and three under Craig Case.

Texas A&M–Commerce Lions
women's volleyball
Founded1978
UniversityTexas A&M University–Commerce
Head coachJoe Morales (1st season)
ConferenceSouthland
LocationCommerce, Texas
Home arenaTexas A&M–Commerce Field House (capacity: 3,055)
NicknameLions
ColorsBlue and gold[1]
   
AIAW/NCAA Regional Final
1986
AIAW/NCAA Tournament appearance
1986, 1987, 1988, 2017, 2018, 2019
Conference tournament champion
1986, 2018
Conference regular season champion
1986, 1987
For information on all Texas A&M University–Commerce sports, see Texas A&M–Commerce Lions

The team is currently coached by Joe Morales.

History
The 2014 A&M–Commerce women's volleyball team
The 2013 team in action against the Texas A&M–Kingsville Javelinas
The 2014 team in action against the Southern Arkansas Muleriders
The 2015 team in action against the Midwestern State Mustangs

Women's volleyball has been a varsity sport at A&M–Commerce (then East Texas State) since 1978, and the team has played in the LSC since it began sponsoring the sport in 1983.[2] In 1980, the Lions finished the season as the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national runners-up.[3] From its inception until 1982, the program competed in the NAIA under head coach Donna Tavener; that year, it began competing at the NCAA Division II level.[2]

The Lions were one of the strongest teams in the LSC during the 1980s, never finishing below fourth place in the conference under the guidance of head coach Kathy Goodlett between 1983 and 1989, and winning the conference regular-season title in 1986 and 1987 as well as the LSC tournament in 1986.[2][3] The team also reached the NCAA Division II tournament quarterfinals in 1987,[3] and advanced to the second round of the national tournament in the two subsequent seasons, 1987 and 1988.[2]

Since the end of Goodlett's coaching tenure in 1989, the A&M–Commerce women's volleyball program has failed to win a regular-season conference championship.[2][4] From 1990 to 2022, the Lions have been coached by Terri Johnson (1990–95), Larry Blackwell (1996–2002), Gwen Weatherford (2003–07), Mark Pryor (2008–09), and Craig Case (2010–2022).[2] Case would lead the Lions to a Lone Star Conference championship in 2018.[5] Case also guided the Lions to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in 2017, 2018, and 2019. On February 3, 2021, Case became the winningest coach in program history, earning his 186th victory.[6]

During their first Division I season, the Lions endured their first losing season since 2014, going 11-23 overall and 6-12 in conference play.[7] Despite this, the Lions still managed to qualify for the Southland Conference Tournament with a seventh place finish. There, they would defeat the New Orleans Privateers[8] in the first round before falling to the McNeese State Cowgirls in the quarterfinal round.[9]

After the season, Case stepped down after 13 seasons as the Lions' head coach on December 5, 2022.[10] Joe Morales was hired as the program's eighth head coach on January 19, 2023.[11]

All-time record
Year Head Coach Overall Pct. Conf. Pct. Place Tourn. Postseason
1978 Donna Tavener 23–22 .511 – – – – –
1979 11–18 .379 – – – – –
1980 26–16 .619 – – – – –
1981 20–18 .526 – – – – –
1982 28–11 .718 – – – – –
1983 Kathy Goodlett 34–12 .739 3–3 .500 3rd – –
1984 33–17 .660 8–2 .800 2nd 2nd –
1985 25–25 .500 6–4 .600 4th 2nd –
1986 22–2 .917 12–0 1.000 1st 1st Quarterfinals
1987 31–6 .838 8–1 .889 1st – Second round
1988 23–10 .697 12–2 .857 2nd – Second round
1989 17–19 .472 10–6 .625 3rd – –
1990 Terri Johnson 12–16 .429 9–6 .600 4th – –
1991 8–22 .267 3–6 .333 6th – –
1992 18–17 .514 3–5 .375 5th – –
1993 15–21 .417 5–9 .357 7th – –
1994 21–12 .636 11–2 .846 2nd 2nd –
1995 20–13 .606 10–6 .625 3rd – –
1996 Larry Blackwell 7–27 .206 5–13 .278 8th – –
1997 17–16 .515 5–5 .500 4th (North) – –
1998 16–19 .457 7–5 .583 4th (North) – –
1999 13–20 .394 6–6 .500 4th (North) – –
2000 24–13 .649 7–3 .700 3rd (North) – –
2001 21–13 .618 7–3 .700 3rd (North) – –
2002 24–13 .649 7–3 .700 2nd (North) – –
2003 Gwen Weatherford 15–16 .484 4–7 .364 4th (North) – –
2004 7–23 .233 3–7 .300 T4th (North) – –
2005 10–19 .345 2–8 .200 6th (North) – –
2006 11–19 .367 4–8 .333 6th (North) – –
2007 9–19 .321 3–9 .250 11th – –
2008 Mark Pryor 15–12 .556 6–7 .462 7th T5th –
2009 26–9 .743 9–4 .692 4th T3rd –
2010 Craig Case 14–15 .483 4–10 .286 T10th – –
2011 11–17 .393 6–14 .300 T9th – –
2012 20–11 .645 11–9 .550 5th T5th –
2013 23–9 .719 9–7 .563 4th T3rd –
2014 7–23 .233 4–12 .250 8th T5th –
2015 15–14 .517 7–9 .438 6th 6th –
2016 19-13 .594 13-7 .650 5th Quarterfinals –
2017 21-12 .636 15-5 .750 2nd Semifinals Regional quarterfinals
2018 30-6 .833 17-3 .850 2nd Champions Regional finalist
2019 24-7 .774 16-2 .889 T1st Quarterfinals Regional quarterfinals
2020 7-7 .500 6-6 .500 2nd Quarterfinals –
2021 14-10 .583 12-5 .706 5th First round –
2022 11-23 .324 6-12 .333 7th Quarterfinals –
2023 Joe Morales — — — — — – –

Year-by-year results through the end of the 2022 season[2][4]

Arena
Main article: Texas A&M–Commerce Field House
The Field House as it appeared in 2015

The Lions women's volleyball program has played at the University Field House since the inception of the program in 1978, although the arena itself was built in 1950 and dedicated in January 1951 as the home of the school's men's basketball program. The Field House has a capacity of 3,055 for both volleyball and basketball contests. The building as a whole measures a total of 69,000 square feet (6,400 m2), enabling it to host the offices of numerous A&M–Commerce sports (including cross country, track and field, soccer, and softball in addition to basketball and volleyball) and university departments (the Athletic Department, Athletic Training, Health and Human Performance, and the James Thrower Academic Center). The arena has also been the host to numerous athletic camps and concerts.[12]

Designed by George Dahl, the Field House was intended to resemble an airplane hangar, with an arched roof topping out at 58 feet (18 m) that is supported by steel beams. In 1949, school president James Gee announced plans for the building's construction along with Memorial Stadium at a combined cost of $325,000. Since its opening in 1951, the Field House has been renovated on numerous occasions: in 1969 (adding classrooms, offices, and dressing rooms), 1991 (replacing bleachers, hardwood playing surface, the HVAC system, and scoreboards), and 2014 (again replacing the playing surface).[12]

Notes
  1. "Logo Downloads - Texas A&M University-Commerce". Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  2. "A&M-Commerce Volleyball History: All-time Game Results". LionAthletics.com. Texas A&M University–Commerce. Due to technical limitations, the link "All-Time Results" must be clicked on from the "A&M-Commerce Volleyball History" landing page. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  3. Reynolds 1993, p. 161
  4. "2015 LSC Fall Media Guide". Lone Star Conference. 2015. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  5. Jensen, Marcus (November 10, 2018). "LSC CHAMPS: No. 22 Lion Volleyball wins first LSC Tournament title in 31 years with 3-1 win over No. 12 Tarleton". LionsAthletics.com. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  6. Manck, Josh (February 3, 2021). "Case takes over TAMUC all-time wins lead with Lions' five-set win over DBU". LionsAthletics.com. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  7. "2022 Volleyball Schedule". LionAthletics.com. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  8. "No. 7 Lions down No. 6 UNO, head to SLC Quarterfinals". LionAthletics.com. November 17, 2022. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  9. "Lions' season comes to a close in Southland quarterfinals". LionAthletics.com. November 18, 2022. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  10. "Craig Case steps down as Lion Volleyball Coach". LionAthletics.com. December 5, 2022. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  11. "Joe Morales Named Head Volleyball Coach". LionAthletics.com. January 19, 2023. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  12. "Field House". LionAthletics.com. Texas A&M University–Commerce. Retrieved November 12, 2015.

References

Reynolds, Donald E. (1993). Professor Mayo's College: A History of East Texas State University. Commerce, Texas: East Texas State University Press. ISBN 0963709208.

Media related to Texas A&M–Commerce Lions women's volleyball at Wikimedia Commons

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