10/29/2021 | Women’s Volleyball | Box Score

PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico volleyball pulled off a tough 3-2 victory over Texas A&M International University on Friday evening at Greyhound Arena. The win sends the Hounds to 5-15 on the year, with a 5-7 conference record. The Dustdevils are set back to 3-16, with a conference standing of 3-9.

Eastern jumped out in front from the first serve, taking an early 7-5 lead. From that point, ENMU rallied a 9-1 run to give the Hounds a 16-6 advantage. The streak started with a Gracelyn Stubbs kill, followed by kills from Jasmine Gannonand Kali Nelson. The stretch also saw three service aces from the Greyhounds. The home team held on to the first frame, taking it by a 25-12 score.

The Dustdevils responded quickly, holding a slight 10-7 advantage in the second set. After the Hounds returned the score to 12-12, TAMIU jumped on an 8-3 streak to give themselves separation in the set, 19-15. Texas A&M-International, would find the six needed points to take the second set 25-22, 1-1 in the match.

The third frame saw each team have long rallies, keeping the match close. TAMIU found a 4-0 run early, just for Eastern to reply with a 4-0 stretch of their own. With the score at 17-17, Eastern found an 8-2 run to capture the middle set. Kills from Gannon and Stubbs started the run, and a kill from Jordan O’Connor-Dempsey put the set in the Hounds favor, 25-19.

Set number four saw the away team rush out to an 8-3 lead. At that point, each team would trade opportunities back and forth, but the Dustdevils still held a large lead, 17-10. Texas A&M International would keep the match alive, claiming the fourth set, 25-14, leaving the score at two sets apiece.

The final set was tight, as neither team wanted to fall behind. In all, the final set saw six tie scores and two lead changes. The deceive moment came with the score at 10-10. After a Gannon kill gave the Greyhounds an 11-10 lead, Mikaela Garvin found three kills in the final four points for ENMU sending them past TAMIU. Closing the set on a 5-1 run, Eastern captured the final set 15-11, and the match 3-2.

NOTABLE STATS

  • Eastern led the way with kills, 65-47, along with assists, 60-42.
  • Gannon was the leader in attack, with 18 kills. Garvin and Stubbs made an important impact with 14 kills, and 13 kills, respectively.
  • Rae Sapiga dished out 31 assists, while Qitana Sapiga provided 23 assists.
  • The Hounds were spread on defense, with Daejia Rodriguez leading with 19 digs. Gannon was right behind with 18 digs, along with 14 digs from O’Connor-Dempsey, and 13 digs from Q.Sapiga.
  • Adriana Puni led all competitors with six total blocks, Garvin supplied five total blocks on the night.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

  • Q. Sapiga posted their fourth consecutive double-double (23 assists, 13 digs), fifth on the season. Q.Sapiga’s marks in digs and assists were a season-best for the setter.
  • Gannon collected their ninth double-double (18 kills, 18 digs) on the campaign, while tying a season-high in kills.
  • The Hounds also saw two new career-highs. Stubbs pushed a new career in kills (13 kills), and O’Connor-Dempsey ticked 13 digs for a personal best.
  • The Greyhounds captured their first ever win against the Dustdevils, taking the overall series to 1-1.
  • Eastern have a quick turnaround, squaring off against Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday, with first serve at 11:30 a.m.