The Eastern New Mexico volleyball team defeated arch-rival West Texas A&M inside Greyhound Arena on Tuesday evening by a final score of 3-2 (25-19, 17-25, 25-13, 13-25, 15-9).
Sophomore Jasmine Gannon had a huge night for the Hounds with 19 kills and 17 digs to record her fourth double-double of the year. The Clovis, N.M. native had her second highest point total of the season with 21.0 points accounted for.
In what proved to be an extremely balanced match, both squads alternated set wins in the first four sets before Eastern New Mexico put together a 7-2 run midway through the fifth and final set to build an 11-5 lead.
West Texas A&M answered with a 4-1 run of their own to narrow the deficit to just 12-9, but coming out of a timeout, Eastern New Mexico finally put the Lady Buffs away with three straight points. Senior Jennifer Martinez recorded the final kill of the match and was all over the court Tuesday evening, totaling 12.5 points with eight kills, four solo blocks and a dig.
Martinez and a host of other fresh faces stepped up in a big way for the Hounds in the absence of junior Sarah Tuoiti-Mariner, who will miss time with a knee injury suffered last weekend. Freshman Jaedynn Devoux was second on the team in kills behind Gannon and Martinez with seven, while junior Christelle Kialanda recorded a season-high six kills for the match.
Gannon recorded three straight kills to complete the set victory in the opening set after the Hounds responded from a slow start that saw them trail by as many as five points at the 10-5 mark. Five straight errors from the Lady Buffs allowed the Hounds a chance to work their way back into the set, which they ultimately took advantage of with a 25-19 victory.
Following a forgettable second set that saw the Lady Buffs jump out to a 16-4 lead, Eastern New Mexico responded in the third with a quick start of their own, opening up an 11-4 lead. Two service aces from freshman Rae Sapiga and then kills from Gannon, freshman Taylor Roberts, and sophomore Julie Tucker extended the Hounds advantage and allowed them to cruise to a 25-13 victory.
The major swings in momentum continued to unfold in Greyhound Arena as the match moved into the fourth set with West Texas taking early control this time around. A 17-9 lead was narrowed to 17-12 following three consecutive Hound points, but seven consecutive Lady Buff points eventually sealed the set victory and forced a fifth and final set.
The exciting five-match victory moves the Hounds to 5-8 on the season and 3-3 in LSC play. Eastern New Mexico will look to continue their five match home stand with games on Friday and Saturday night inside Greyhound Arena against Western New Mexico and UT- Permian Basin.
