For the first time in program history, the Eastern New Mexico University volleyball team upset 17th-ranked Angelo State in back-to-back years. Last year, ENMU claimed a thrilling five-set victory at Greyhound Arena over the then 10th-ranked Rambelles. On Saturday, the Green and Silver again needed five sets to upend ASU, (25-19, 18-25, 16-25, 25-21, 15-8). The Hounds improve to 8-12 overall and 5-5 in Lone Star Conference action following the win.

“I like to think the past three or four years that teams aren’t looking forward to play us at home,” ENMU Head Coach Sia Poyer said. “We’ve gotten better. We’ve got some inexperience in our lineup, but there’s something to say about the experience that’s there. Brooklyn played an unbelievable match. Every year, our goal is to keep getting better. I hope our young players are able to build off this experience.”

“It was nice to have contributions from Natasha, Jasmine and Marissa. Something that’s underrated about Marissa is her serve-receive. She has helped us out big time. I told the girls coming into the year to not worry about stats. Let those take care of themselves. This match was a huge indication. We were down 14-9 in the fourth set and kept plugging away.”

The Hounds were led by senior Brooklyn Biel who turned in one of her best performances of the season with 18 kills, six blocks and a .455 hitting percentage. The aforementioned freshman trio of Jasmine Gannon (11 kills), Natasha McClendon (10 kills) and Marissa Ellis (five kills, 10 digs) provided a strong wave of support in the upset. Defensively, Andrea Aguilar racked up 16 digs while Alexis Aguirre produced a double-double with 18 assists and 10 digs. Junior Kaitlyn Kluna was a weapon from the service line, knocking down six aces and dishing out 28 assists to lead the Hounds.

Both teams exchanged the first two sets going into the intermission. In the first set, ENMU pulled away late, closing the set on a 7-2 run with four of Biel’s five kills in the frame after leading 18-17. In both the second and third set, the Rambelles created an early advantage and didn’t look back, taking a 2-1 lead into the fourth set.

The comeback by the Hounds in a wild fourth set that featured 11 ties and four lead changes proved to be the turning point of the match. Trailing 14-9, Eastern strung together a 6-1 run to pull even at 15. After a back-and-forth tilt, ASU held a 20-18 lead before a 7-1 run, capped off by an ace from Kluna forced a decisive fifth set.

After that, it was all ENMU with the Hounds hitting .538 in the fifth and never trailed to secure the upset. Kluna notched back-to-back service aces to close out the win.

ENMU is back in action on Tuesday at rival West Texas A&M. First serve against the Lady Bufs is slated for 5 p.m. in Canyon, Texas. For all the latest news on the Greyhounds volleyball program, follow @greyhoundvball and @ENMUAthletics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram or visit GoEasternAthletics.com.

-Eastern New Mexico University-
Volleyball
Will Edwards