Women's Volleyball | 11/18/2015 10:53:00 AM

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

PORTALES, N.M — The Lone Star Conference volleyball tournament is here and the Eastern New Mexico University volleyball team is slated to play the No. 1 seed Tarleton State University Thursday night in the opening round of play.

The Greyhounds (13-19, 4-12 LSC) will be making their third straight tournament appearance.  Prior to the start of their tournament streak, the team failed to reach the playoffs since 2004.

ENMU has a challenge ahead of them, taking on the No. 1 team in the LSC, the TexAnns (25-5, 15-1 LSC).  Their only conference loss came early in the season to Angelo State University.

In their two matchups this season, the TexAnns got the better of the Hounds, winning the first meeting in three straight sets in Stephenville, Texas.  The second contest saw ENMU take the first two sets at home, before dropping the match in five.  Overall, Eastern is 10-16 against Tarleton, with their last win coming Sept. 27, 2014.

The Greyhounds will be heading into the tournament as the No. 8 seed, the second time earning that seed in three years.  Last year ENMU earned the No. 6 seed, but fell to the No. 3 Javelinas in the first round. 

In 2013-14, the Greyhounds came up against West Texas A&M University who entered the tournament at a perfect 16-0 in conference play.  The Hounds would go on to lose in three sets.

The last time ENMU advanced in the LSC tournament was 2004, where they beat Central Oklahoma University 3-1, before losing to Abilene Christian.  The Greyhounds would go on to make an appearance in the NCAA Regional Tournament, winning their first round matchup against Mesa State University before falling in the second round to the No. 1 team in the nation, Nebraska-Kearney. 

The Greyhounds and TexAnns are scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. (MT) start Thursday, Nov. 19.