ODESSA, Texas – The Eastern New Mexico volleyball team fell to UT Permian Basin in straight sets Thursday night.
Freshman setter Qitana Sapiga continues to impress in her first collegiate season after recording her sixth double-double of the year, leading the squad with 14 assists and 13 digs. Junior outside hitter Jasmine Gannon led the Hounds offensively as she recorded ten kills on 23 total attacks for an efficient .304 hitting percentage.
The Hounds were able to jump out to an 8-5 advantage to begin the game highlighted by a kill from senior middle blocker Chirstielle Kialanda. From there, the Falcons mounted an 11-1 run and would hold on for the victory with a 25-20 final.
Eastern benefited from two consecutive errors from UTPB to start the second frame and were able to push that to a 15-12 lead midway through the set. The Falcons rattled off 13 of the final 14 points in the second set of action and would cruise to 25-16 victory.
A kill from junior middle blocker Julie Tucker was how the Hounds kicked off the final frame before the home team scored the next five consecutive points and would not look back before finishing the set with a 25-14 final.
Sophomore setter Rae Sapiga recorded ten assists, her tenth straight match finishing with double-digit assist figures while sophomore libero M’Lee Vinson led the defensive effort as she lead all competitors with 18 digs.
The Green and Silver will look to finish their season on a high note next week when they face in-state rival Western New Mexico on Saturday in their regular season finale.
