The Eastern New Mexico volleyball team went the distance at Western New Mexico, but came up just short as the Hounds fell 3-2 (25-23, 22-25, 25-23, 20-25, 11-15) in their final regular season road match of 2018.
The Greyhounds (8-17, 6-11 Lone Star Conference) had to overcome some adversity in the first set as the Mustangs (9-15, 5-10 LSC) jumped out to a 15-6 advantage. Eastern began mounting a comeback, stringing together a 6-1 run that featured a trio of Jennifer Martinez kills, a kill by Jasmine Gannon and a Kaitlyn Kluna service ace to make it 16-12, forcing the Mustangs to call a timeout. WNMU managed to stretch its lead back to five at 18-13, but the Hounds rose to the occasion by scoring seven of the next nine points on a run capped off on another Martinez kill to tie the set up at 20-all.
After a Bria Augustine kill temporarily gave the lead back to Western, the Hounds reclaimed its first lead since 1-0 on a Lauryn Bresnahan kill and a block by Jaedynn Devoux to make it 22-21. Western managed to tie the match up on two more occasions, but a pair of Martinez kills set up game point. On the following play, Erin Moss’ attack was rejected by Julie Tucker and Christelle Kialanda as Eastern came away with set one, 25-23.
The Greyhounds got off to a hot start in the second set, scoring seven of the first 10 points on three kills by Gannon and a pair from Kialanda to grab the early 7-3 edge. However, the Mustangs strung together a monstrous 9-1 run to grab its largest lead of the set at 12-8. The Hounds rallied back with a 9-2 run of their own, capped off on another kill by Martinez to claim a 17-14 advantage.
The Hounds maintained their three-point lead as the two teams traded the next eight points to bring the score to 21-18, but Western regained the momentum late in the set as the Mustangs closed out on a 7-1 run, including five unanswered to give WNMU the 25-22 set two win.
The third set remained close early, but during the midway point, Eastern was able to muster a 3-0 run capped off on a kill by Tucker to give the Hounds their largest lead of the set at 16-11. Western was able to respond with a run of their own, stringing together a 6-1 run to tie the set up at 17 apiece.
The two teams continued to trade blows throughout the remainder of the set, but with the scored tied at 22, the Hounds made some big plays to grab the advantage. Kialanda put down a kill to take a one-point lead and a critical attack error by the Mustangs set up game point at 24-22, forcing Western to call a timeout. The Mustangs managed to get one point back following the timeout, but Kialanda came up with the crucial kill once again on the second game point, giving the Hounds their second 25-23 set win of the night.
The critical fourth set was a back-and-forth affair that saw six lead changes and eight ties with the two teams locked up at 16-all. It was a 3-0 run by the Mustangs that swung the set in their favor as the Greyhounds could not put a dent into the deficit and Western went on to win set four by a score of 25-20.
Set five got off to a similar start as the Hounds and Mustangs traded points early on and with the set tied at 3-all, Bresnahan came up with a big kill to give Eastern a 4-3 edge. The Mustangs put together the first rally of the set, rattling off three straight to take a 6-4 lead. However, the Hounds strung together a rally of their own, responding with four straight points as a Devoux kill put Eastern ahead 8-6 as the teams switched sides.
Unfortunately for the Hounds, the side change didn’t work in their favor as the Mustangs rattled off four straight coming out of the switch to reclaim the lead at 10-8. A Tucker kill kept the Hounds in it, but Western would not let Eastern take the lead back, scoring five of the final seven points of the set to close out the match.
Martinez put together a monster match for Eastern with her first career double-double. She posted a career-high 16 kills on a .344 attack percentage while also finishing with a career-best 10 total blocks. Her 10-block performance set a mark in the ENMU record books, as it tied for the second-most total blocks in a single match.
Gannon also turned in a double-double with 15 kills on a .231 hitting percentage while also recording 16 digs. Kialanda rounded out the players with double-digit kills, tying her career-high with 11 while Kluna turned in her 11th double-double with a season-high 31 assists to go with 12 digs. Senior libero Alba Ontiveros led the defensive efforts for the Hounds with 21 digs.
The Greyhounds will now return home to start a three-match home stand to close out the regular season. Eastern opens the home stand on Friday at 6 p.m. as the Hounds host Texas A&M-Kingsville.