PORTALES, N.M. – The Eastern New Mexico University volleyball team earned a hard-fought, 3-1 victory over New Mexico Highlands (25-20, 25-16, 22-25, 25-21) on Tuesday night at Greyhound Arena. The win propels the Greyhounds to 5-6 on the season before hosting Midwestern State and Cameron this weekend in Lone Star Conference action.
 
Senior Lauren Frye led all players with 25 kills in the match, hitting .370 on 46 swings. Additionally, the Amissville, Va., native went a perfect 7-for-7 on swings in the first set to earn seven kills and a 1.000 swing percentage. Alexis Aguirre and Kaitlyn Kluna set the table for the offense with 30 and 14 assists, respectively.
 
"Lauren has come a long way," ENMU head coach Sia Poyer said on his senior. "As well as she started the season, she's struggled in the last two matches against Lubbock Christian and Kingsville. I'm very proud of her. She's always going to have awesome shots. There are certain things you look for as a coach. The good thing about Lauren and how good she's gotten is everyone is going to try and double block her. I'm dreading the team that tries to triple block her. She still gets her numbers, not just kills but quality shots."
 
Redshirt freshman Jennifer Martinez aided the defensive effort after being placed in the middle of the Greyhound formation about an hour before the match. The Lynwood, Wash., product picked up seven blocks in the match, including three block assists in the first and four in the third. As a team, the Greyhounds hit .357 in the first and .252 overall to earn the victory. Eastern closed the opening frame on a 13-3 run after trailing 17-12.
 
"We aren't a big blocking team and ironically, what got us going in that first set was blocking," Poyer said. "I was glad to see that. It created a spark. That's what we talked about in the fourth set: it was just like the first set. Our defense really got us going. We put Jenny in the middle about an hour before the match. I'm very proud of her performance tonight. I saw some great volleyball IQ type plays from Jenny tonight. We train them and position them a certain way, but they don't think. It was nice to see some out-of-the-box type plays. Jenny had the presence of mind to go after a few balls, realizing we didn't have anyone to cover and bump-set it. You can't teach that."
 
After coming out strong in the first, Eastern was just as good offensively in the second. The Greyhounds hit .306 as a team while holding the Cowgirls to a .075 hitting percentage in the second set. Senior Courtney Lawson picked up eight digs and finished with 20 on the night, one of three ENMU players to finish with double-digits.
 
Despite dropping the third set, ENMU rallied in the fourth, overcoming a 20-18 deficit late to pull out the 25-21 victory. Frye earned her best frame on the night, with eight kills on 13 swings.
 
"I'm happy with the win in the first home game. That was the shot in the arm we needed. I told our girls when it comes to Lone Star Conference, you can't look at records. It's a whole new ballgame in conference. We're coming off very little practice to get ready. You have to find the right balance of giving the girls rest and getting them enough practice to have them ready. Midwestern is good. Cameron is a good team. Their coach is one of the smartest guys in volleyball. It's going to be a dogfight."
 
The Greyhounds host Midwestern State and Cameron this Friday and Saturday at Greyhound Arena. First serve in both matches is slated for 6 p.m. For the latest news, follow @ENMUAthletics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and visit goeasternathletics.com.