The Eastern New Mexico volleyball team put together its best performances of the season from the service line as the Hounds recorded a season-high 12 service aces in a dramatic 3-2 (23-25, 25-18, 20-25, 25-23, 15-11) victory over Texas A&M-Kingsville on Friday night at Greyhound Arena.
After dropping the first point in set one, the Hounds (9-17, 7-11 Lone Star Conference) rattled off a strong 6-1 run behind kills by Jaedynn Devoux, Jennifer Martinez, Christelle Kialanda, and Julie Tucker. After conceding just one point to the Javelinas (15-13, 7-10 LSC), Eastern once again mounted a 6-1 run on kills by Kialanda and Jasmine Gannon as well as a Rae Sapiga service ace to make it a 12-4 Hounds advantage.
After maintaining an eight-point edge at 14-6, Kingsville mounted a big rally, scoring 8 of the next 10 points to cut the Eastern lead to two, forcing ENMU head coach Sia Poyer to call a timeout to regroup. The Javelinas scored the first point coming out of the timeout to make it 16-15, but the Greyhounds rattled off four consecutive points off a trio of Gannon kills and a Sapiga service ace that pushed the lead back to five at 20-15. After the teams traded blows to bring the score to 22-18, the Javelinas closed out the set with a 7-1 streak to take the set, 25-23.
Kingsville opened set two with a 3-0 run to grab the early edge, but the Hounds had an immediate answer, scoring four straight off a Kialanda kill and a powerful Gannon kill that hit just inside the backline to give Eastern the lead back at 4-3. The Javelinas retaliated with four consecutive points to reclaim a 7-4 edge but the Hounds battled back in a big way, putting together a 9-2 run that included five unanswered points to grab a 13-9 advantage.
The Javelinas trimmed the Eastern lead to as little as two at 15-13, but the Hounds would not let Kingsville get any closer in the set, stringing together a 5-2 rally that featured a pair of Martinez kills and a service ace to bring the lead back to five. While holding a 22-18 edge later in the set, the Hounds closed out with a three-point run to win set two, 25-18.
TAMUK started the third set with a 5-0 run, but ENMU rallied back with three unanswered on a Lauryn Bresnahan kill and Gannon service ace, forcing Kingsville to call a timeout. Coming out of the break, the Javelinas rattled off eight straight to claim its largest lead at 13-3. Once again, the Hounds fought back with five consecutive, capped off on a Martinez kill to cut the deficit to 13-8.
However, TAMUK mounted another strong run, scoring six of the next seven to reclaim its 10-point edge once again at 19-9. Eastern continued to fight and claw its way back in the set, as an 8-1 run brought the Hounds back from the brink to only down three at 20-17. However, Eastern could not climb any closer as the Javelinas went on to win the set by a score of 25-20.
After trailing early in the fourth set by a score of 3-2, the Hounds reclaimed the lead with a 4-0 run that was capped off on a strong kill by Kialanda toward the backline. While the Hounds maintained their three-point advantage at 9-6, they managed to string together a 3-1 run that included a pair of strong kills by Tucker and Bresnahan as well as an Alba Ontiveros service ace to give Eastern the 12-7 edge.
However, the Javelinas put together a solid run, scoring five unanswered points to tie the set up at 12-all. After the Hounds briefly grabbed a 13-12 lead, TAMUK grabbed the advantage back with three straight points. ENMU kept fighting back, tying the match up twice at 15-all and 18-all, but Kingsville kept finding ways to pull back into the lead and with the score at 22-20 in favor of the Javelinas, Eastern called a timeout to regroup.
The Hounds played inspired volleyball coming out of the break, as Bresnahan cut the deficit to one on a tap kill down the right sideline and a Sapiga service ace knotted the match up at 22-all, forcing the Javelinas to call a timeout as well. TAMUK scored the first point after the timeout, but Eastern got a couple of big plays by Devoux as she put a strong kill down near the backline to tie it and then landed a service ace in the middle of the court to set up game point. A fired-up, aggressive Hounds defense and rowdy Greyhound Arena led to a Javelinas attack error to end the set in favor of the Greyhounds, 25-23.
In the dramatic fifth set, back-to-back kills by Kialanda early on gave the Hounds the momentum as they took an 8-6 lead into the side change. The Javelinas tallied the first two points after switching sides to tie the set up at 8-all, but Martinez gave the advantage back to the Greyhounds with a kill and a TAMUK error made it 10-8, forcing the Javelinas to call their first timeout of the set.
Kingsville again fought back to tie it up at 11-all, but a massive kill by Gannon from the left side across the court to the right sideline gave all of the momentum back to the Greyhounds. Bresnahan followed suit with a strong kill down the left sideline to make it 13-11 and forcing TAMUK to call its final timeout. It would be too little, too late for the Javelinas as back-to-back attack errors made it a five-set victory for the Hounds.
The 12 service aces bested the previous mark of 10 set back in the season-opener against Emporia State. It was the most service aces the Hounds have recorded in a match since tallying 12 against Northern Michigan back on Sept. 2, 2016.
Gannon led the offensive efforts for Eastern, finishing with a team-high 15 kills as well as 15 digs for her seventh double-double of the season. She was also one of many Greyhounds to have multiple service aces after recording a pair in the match. Martinez and Sapiga led the way from the service line as each finished with a career-high three service aces.
Kluna led the passing efforts for Eastern, dishing out 26 assists while Sapiga added 18. Defensively, the Hounds were led by Ontiveros with 16 digs while Kluna also added 13 for her team-leading 12th double-double of the season.
Eastern will look to finish the regular season on a high note as the Hounds will host No. 21 Texas A&M-Commerce on Friday, Nov. 2 at 6 p.m. On Saturday, Nov. 3, Eastern will honor its senior class as the Hounds will take on Texas Woman’s at noon to close out the regular season and look to secure a spot in the Lone Star Conference Tournament.
