9/19/2019 | Women’s Volleyball
PORTALES, N.M. – The Eastern New Mexico volleyball team will open up Lone Star Conference play with a pair of home matches on Friday night at 6 p.m. and Saturday afternoon at noon.
The Hounds will enter the weekend with a record of 2-6 and will be looking to qualify for their fourth consecutive trip to the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament after finishing last season with a record of 7-13 in league play. The first 150 fans present at Friday night’s match will receive a free koozie courtesy of Rooney Moon Broadcasting.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Greyhound picked up a dominate 3-0 win over Pace University last weekend to secure their second victory of the season to finish the DBU/Pioneer Classic with a record of 1-3. The Hounds will now open up Lone Star Conference play this weekend at home in the newly expanded Lone Star Conference. The first two opponents for the Greyhound will be divisional rivals Angelo State and Lubbock Christian, both of which have had a solid start to the 2019 season.
Eastern New Mexico is 196-270 all time in league play and sports a winning record of 120-106 in Lone Star Conference home matches. The Hounds finished 5-5 in home matches last season and finished with a conference record of 7-13, finishing eighth in the Lone Star Conference.
SCOUTING THE LADY CHAPS
The Lady Chaps will enter Friday night’s match-up with Eastern New Mexico winners of five out of the last six matches. Lubbock Christian finished with a record of 21-9 last season, including a mark of 10-2 in Heartland Conference play before being upset in the first round of the conference tournament by St. Edward’s
The Lady Chaps rank third in the Lone Star Conference with an average of 16.81 digs per set and are led defensibely by libero Maddie Deguire. Deguire leads the squad with 142 digs on the year and has recorded 20 or more digs in four consecutive matches entering Friday night’s meeting with the Greyhounds.
The offense for Lubbock Christian will run through sophomore Bradi Marshall, who currently leads the LSC with an average of 10.16 assists per set. Outside hitter Hannah Thomas leads the team with 101 kills on the season while junior Avery Moore leads the squad with an attack percentage of .291.
SCOUTING THE BELLES
Angelo State will enter the weekend of play coming off their lone loss of the season so far against the Colorado School of Mines. The Rambelles opened 2019 with eight consecutive wins and received 39 votes in this week’s AVCA Division II National Polls.
The Belles rank third in the Lone Star Conference with a team hitting percentage of .271 and will be led by redshirt sophomore Kailyn Gilbreath, who enters the week fresh off of being named the tournament MVP at the Mountain Lion Invitational last weekend.
Sophomore Sophia Berg currently ranks second in the LSC with 1.30 blocks per set and has produced the sixth best individual hitting percentage in the league at .365.
TUI IS HEATING UP
Senior Sarah Tuioti-Mariner posted hitting percentages of .350, .500 and .500 in the first three matches over the weekend and is beginning to find her form following a season-ending knee surgery last season. Tuioti-Mariner posted 10 and 12 kills against Sioux Falls and Pace University and recorded just seven attacking errors for the weekend.
STAT PADDER
Eastern New Mexico standout Jasmine Gannon continued to pace the Hounds in multiple statistical categories last weekend in Denton, Texas after being named to the CSU San Marcos Cougar Classic All-Tournament Team following the opening weekend of play. Gannon is currently averaging 10 kills per match with 80 kills on the season, leading the team along with 68 digs.
SISTER SISTER
Sophomore Rae Sapiga and freshman Qitana Sapiga were solid from the setter position in the non-conference portion of the Greyhound’s schedule. Both sisters have produced their fair share of assists this far, combining for 205 so far this season.
A LOOK AT THE CONFERENCE
The newly expanded Lone Star Conference showed it’s teeth in non-conference play prior to this weekend’s opening conference matches. Just five of the 18 teams finished the opening two weeks of the season with losing records.
The Greyhounds will compete in a division alongside Angelo State, Lubbock Christian, UT Permian Basin, West Texas A&M and Western New Mexico. Angelo State, UT Permian Basin and West Texas A&M all made it through the first two weeks with just one loss.
