COMMERCE, Texas—Carissa Chainey and Kayla Wilson combined for 26 kills to lead McNeese volleyball to its Southland Conference opening win in straight set (25-19, 25-17, 25-22) Texas A&M-Commerce Thursday night.
 
"It was a total team effort tonight, from the players on the court to the players that came off the bench to contribute," said head coach Sasha Karelov.  "Megan (Grose) made some great decisions offensively to put our hitters in a comfortable position to score.  Carissa (Chainey) was smart and aggressive, which set the tone early and Kayla (Wilson) was the spark plug when we needed her the most."
 
McNeese (2-9, 1-0 SLC) took the early lead in all three sets and was solid on defense with 58 digs to go along with a season high .316 team hitting percent.  The Cowgirls also recorded six service aces.
 
Chainey led the Cowgirls with 15 kills while Wilson came off the bench to record 11 kills.  Chainey ended her night with a .423 hitting percent with 26 attempts and four errors.  The defense was led by Bailey Tillman's 14 digs.
 
Freshman setter Megan Grose continued her streak of double figure assists by dishing out a match high 37 for her sixth match of the season with 30 or more assists.
 
Texas A&M-Commerce fell to 4-8 overall and 0-1 in the SLC with the loss.  The Lions were led by Deja Benjamin's nine kills.
 
McNeese will remain on the road to take part in the Texas-Arlington Invitational Friday and Saturday.  The Cowgirls will face UT-Arlington at 6 p.m. Friday and North Texas at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.    
 
 
Set 1
• McNeese scored five straight points to lead 7-3
• AM-Commerce went on a 10-5 run to take a 13-12 lead
• Following a timeout, McNeese outscored A&M-Commerce 7-1 to lead 19-14
• McNeese closed out the first set win by a 25-19 win
• Kayla Wilson recorded six kills and Carissa Chainey added five
 
Set 2
• McNeese opens the set with a 7-2 lead after scoring four of the first five points of the set
• Following a Lion timeout, McNeese scored the next five points for a 9-3 lead
• A&M-Commerce then went on a 4-0 run to pull to within three (9-6)
• The Cowgirls continued to extend the lead and held a 15-10 lead following back-to-back kills by Wilson
 
Set 3
• The set went back and forth for the first few points
• With McNeese leading 5-4, the Cowgirls went on a 10-4 run to lead 15-9
• A&M-Commerce put together a 6-2 run to pull to within two points (17-15) and then got as close as one point a few times late in the set
• Leading 22-21, a McKenzie Moore kill put the Cowgirls up 23-21 before a Lion error gave McNeese a two-point advantage 24-22
• Chainey ended the set with a kill to give the Cowgirls the win
 
 
NOTES
• McNeese opened the conference race with a win for the second straight year and both wins came against Texas A&M-Commerce
• McNeese hit a season best .316 hitting percent
• Carissa Chainey led McNeese with 15 kills
• Kayla Wilson came off the bench to add 11 kills
• McNeese's defense picked up 58 digs and was led by Bailey Tillman who had a match high 14 digs
• Setter Megan Grose dished out a match high 37 assists, it's the sixth time Grose records at least 30 assists
• McNeese has six service aces with McKenzie Moore and Chainey collecting two apiece