PORTALES, N.M. – The ENMU Greyhounds volleyball team closed out the West Texas A&M Lady Buff Classic with a pair of wins over Adams State and Southwestern Oklahoma State. The team improves to 3-1 on the young season before returning to the Lone Star State next weekend for the Tarleton State Tournament in Stephenville.
 
"Hopefully the tournament this weekend did wonders to our confidence," ENMU Head Coach Sia Poyer said. "We've taken a huge step, given the history of this program. McKendree is a legit program. This weekend was a big step in the right direction. Next weekend will be just as tough, if not tougher for us."
 
Greyhound upperclassmen led by example for the second-straight day. Brooklyn Biel (20), Lauren Frye (16) and Courtney Lawson (11) posted double-digit kills for the third-consecutive match while Kaitlyn Kluna and Alexis Aguirre combined for 53 assists to pace the offense.
 
In the first match of the morning, ENMU outlasted Adams State in a five-set thriller (11-25, 25-19, 20-25, 28-26, 15-13) to earn the win. Fast forward to the fourth set, ENMU faced match point down 24-20, but mounted a furious 8-2 run to comeback and force a decisive fifth set. During the run, Frye picked up four kills to extend the match. With the newfound momentum, the Greyhounds never looked back in the final set, closing out the match with a 15-13 decision.
 
"We hung in there and kept chipping away," Poyer said on the comeback win. "We didn't give up. That fifth set was a battle, but everyone played great. We had contributions from everybody; they all played well."
 
Later in the afternoon, Eastern made a clean sweep of Southwestern Oklahoma State University with a 25-21, 25-22, 25-23, victory over the Bulldogs. Frye hammered out 20 kills and led all players with a blistering, .600 swing percentage. Biel aided the effort with an additional 10 kills while Andrea Aguilar (16) and Lawson (10) picked up double-digit digs.
 
"We played well," Poyer said on the match against SWOSU. "You have to be ready in tournament play. I think we wanted it more than they did. Southwestern Oklahoma might be 1-4, but they have some great athletes. It was a team effort. I'm really happy we played some quality volleyball this weekend."
 
The Greyhounds travel to Stephenville for the Tarleton State Tournament next weekend, taking on Central Oklahoma, Colorado Christian, Arkansas-Monticello and Colorado Mesa. For the latest news, follow @ENMUAthletics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and visit goeasternathletics.com.