PORTALES, N.M. – The Eastern New Mexico volleyball program is set for a busy week in Lone Star Conference play as the Hounds will be traveling for three road matches the next five days. Tonight, the Hounds will be in Canyon, Texas to take on West Texas A&M at 5 p.m. before heading to Stephenville, Texas to challenge No. 13 Tarleton State on Friday at 5 p.m. and Angelo State at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

LAST TIME OUT

The Greyhounds split a pair of matches during the Homecoming week, as they picked up a three-set sweep over Cameron on Friday before falling to Midwestern State on Saturday.

In the Oct. 12 match against the Aggies, Eastern defeated Cameron 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-13). It was the seventh consecutive win and the third straight three-set sweep for the Hounds against the Aggies. ENMU finished the match with a .262 attack percentage, the third-highest percentage for the Hounds this season.

Leading the both offensively and defensively was sophomore outside hitter Jasmine Gannon with 16 kills on a blistering .429 attack percentage, the second-highest for her in any match this season. Gannon also finished with a team-high eight digs. Senior setter Kaitlyn Kluna also turned a strong performance, dishing out a team-high 21 assists, averaging seven assists per set.

Unfortunately, the Hounds fell in a hard-fought 3-2 (25-19, 24-26, 25-20, 18-25, 13-15) match against the Mustangs on Saturday. Midwestern State was able to change the momentum of the match with an inspired rally in the second set to tie the match up. The two teams split the next two to set up a dramatic fifth set. In a set that featured five lead changes and seven ties, including a 13-all draw late, the Mustangs managed to score the final two points to hand the Hounds a bitter defeat.

Leading the offensive attack was Gannon and Jennifer Martinez with 12 kills each. Gannon was one of two Greyhounds to finish the match with a double-double as her 13-dig effort resulted in her sixth double-double on the season while Kluna turned in her ninth with 30 assists to go with 15 digs. Senior libero Alba Ontiveros turned in a 20-dig performance to lead the backline while Julie Tucker turned in five blocks to go with her 11 kills on the frontline.

SCOUTING THE LADY BUFFS

West Texas A&M (14-7, 9-4 LSC) currently sits as one of the top four teams in the conference, just a game back of Texas A&M-Commerce and Angelo State for second while holding a 2.5 game lead over UT-Permian Basin for the No.4 spot.

WTAMU is coming off a pair of sweeps last week, defeating Midwestern State 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-18) on Friday before handing Cameron a 3-0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-15) loss on Saturday.

The Lady Buffs enter tonight's match with a 7-3 record at home, including a four-match home winning streak. WTAMU has also won four straight matches and have won seven of their last eight since facing the Hounds on Sept. 18.

Leading the attack for the Lady Buffs is junior outside hitter Taylor Kress with 218 kills, averaging 2.83 kills per set. Junior middle blocker Lindsey Smith has also been a big producer both offensively and defensively for West Texas A&M, as she is second on the team with 191 kills (2.48 kills per set) and in total blocks with 54. Junior setter Selena Batiste is the catalyst for the Lady Buffs attack that ranks second in the LSC with 12.29 assists per set, leading the team with 325 assists for a 6.37 assist per set average.

Sophomore libero Chandler Vogel headlines a WTAMU defense that ranks 18th in NCAA Division II with 19.01 digs per set with a team-high 286 digs, leading LSC at 5.61 digs per set.

HISTORY WITH THE LADY BUFFS

West Texas A&M leads the all-time series 73-19, however, the Hounds have taken three of the last four against the Lady Buffs.

The last time both teams met was back on Sept. 18 in Greyhound Arena when the Hounds pulled out a 3-2 (25-19, 17-25, 25-13, 13-25, 15-9) victory. After holding a slim 4-3 lead early in the critical fifth set, the Hounds took control with a 3-0 run off of a kill by Gannon and a pair of Tucker blocks.  The closest the Lady Buffs closed the gap to would be three at 12-9, but the Hounds finished the match strong with three straight points with a Gannon kill setting up match point and Martinez getting the final kill to end the match.

Eastern will be seeking its first win at WTAMU Fieldhouse since Oct. 12, 2004 as the Hounds walked away that day with a 3-2 win.

SCOUTING THE TEXANS

The 13th-ranked team in NCAA Division II and the LSC leader, Tarleton State enters the week with a 20-2 overall record and a perfect 13-0 mark in LSC play. The Texans are in the midst of a 17-match winning streak since their last loss on Aug. 30 at Dixie State, only dropping 11 sets during the streak.

However, the Texans were challenged last week as they came away with a 3-1 (25-19, 25-19, 21-25, 27-25) win at No. 22 Texas A&M-Commerce on Friday and were taken to five sets against Texas Woman's on Saturday, but pulled out the 3-2 (19-25, 25-20, 25-20, 21-25, 15-9) victory.

TSU has been putting up big numbers both offensively and defensively this season, ranking as the top team in the LSC with a .242 attack percentage while limiting their opponents to just a .135 attack percentage. One of the big factors in the TSU defense is their frontline blocking, as they currently rank second in all of NCAA Division II with a 3.01 blocks per set average, only behind Dixie State in that category.

The Tarleton State attack will be led by junior outside hitter Adrianna Darthuy, who's 233 kills and 2.99 kills per set ranks fifth in the conference. Darthuy also ranks as the best server in the LSC as her 0.44 service aces per set is best ratio in the LSC. Senior setter Blanca Izquierdo will be setting up the TSU frontline with a team-leading 449 assists while freshman setter Kayla Brannon is second with 344 assists.

Defensively, the Texans are led by one of the best middle blockers in the nation in senior Hannah McManus. Her 115 blocks and 1.47 blocks per set ratio not only rank first in the Lone Star, but also fourth in all of NCAA Division II in blocks per set. Senior defensive specialist Adrianna Knutson leads the defensive backcourt for Tarleton State, turning in a team-leading 356 digs at 4.56 digs per set.

HISTORY WITH THE TEXANS

The Hounds lead the all-time series against the Texans with a 24-23 overall mark dating back to Sept. 6, 1985. However, Eastern will be looking to snap a 10-match losing streak to TSU with their last win coming on Sept. 27, 2014 in a 3-0 sweep in Portales.

In ENMU's last meeting against the Texans on Sept. 15 at Greyhound Arena, Tarleton State won 3-0 (25-20, 27-25, 25-20). The Hounds were able to challenge the Texans in the match as TSU needed late surges in the first and third sets to pull away and the Hounds battled the Texans to extra points in set two.

SCOUTING THE RAMS

Angelo State (17-6, 10-3 LSC) enters the week in a tie for the No. 2 spot in the LSC with No. 22 Texas A&M-Commerce.  The Rams are coming off a tough week, dropping a 3-2 (25-22, 25-19, 16-25, 21-25, 15-9) decision at Texas Woman's on Friday before falling 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-18) at No. 22 Texas A&M-Commerce.

Angelo State features the best defense in the conference, holding their opponents to just a .132 attack percentage, which also ranks 21^st in NCAA Division II.

The ASU offensive attack is incredibly balanced with four players with more than 170 kills on the season. Senior outside hitter Audrey Fragniere leads the attack with 231 kills on a 2.82 kills per set average. The Rams attack also features one of the most effective attackers in the LSC as sophomore middle blocker Baleigh Allen ranks third in the conference with a .329 attack percentage on her 171 kills. The Rams also feature one of the best setters in the nation in junior Meghan Parker, who ranks second in the conference and 33rd nationally with 837 assists, averaging 9.85 assists per set.

Defensively, the Rams have a balanced backline as four players currently have 215 or more digs. Junior right side hitter Sundara Chinn leads the group with 247 digs while Allen leads the frontline with 70 total blocks, averaging the fifth-best blocks per set average in the conference at 0.93. 

HISTORY WITH THE RAMS

The Rams lead the all-time series against the Hounds 49-26, a series that dates back to 1978. The two teams have already met this season in Portales where ASU escaped Greyhound Arena with a 3-2 (7-25, 18-25, 25-19, 25-23, 7-15) victory over Eastern.

The Hounds are hoping to snap a 10-match road losing streak at Angelo State, as the Hounds last victory in San Angelo came on Oct. 8, 2005, pulling out 3-2 win.

SETTING THE BAR

Kluna is coming off one of her best weeks as a four-year member of the Eastern New Mexico volleyball program. In the Cameron match, her 21 assists was the second-most assists she recorded in a three-set match this season after tallying 24 assists back on Sept. 22 against UT-Permian Basin. It was also the third-most in her four-year Greyhounds career.

In the Midwestern State match, Kluna's 15 digs tied her career-best mark while her 30-assist effort tied her season-high and was just one shy of tying her career-high of 31 set back on Nov. 4, 2016 against Texas Woman's.

FOUR THE ROAD

In the Midwestern State match, four players cracked double-digits in kills, led by Gannon and Martinez with 12 apiece while Tucker and Christelle Kialanda turned in 11 each for the Hounds. It was the first time this season four players finished a match with 10 or more kills. The last time it happened for the Hounds was Sept. 9, 2017 in a 3-2 loss at Lubbock Christian. In that match, Sarah Tuioti-Mariner tallied 21 kills, Gannon and Brooklyn Biel each notched 13 apiece, and Natasha McClendon finished with 10.

UP FOR THE CHALLENGE

The Hounds will certainly be challenged this week as not only will the Hounds be on the road for all three matches, but they will be facing three of the top four teams in the Lone Star. However, Eastern has shown no quit on the road against quality competition. Two weeks ago, the Hounds traveled to Commerce, Texas and presented a challenge to the 21st-ranked Texas A&M-Commerce, forcing the Lions to go to five sets against the Hounds. In that match, Eastern won the first set 25-19 and rallied in the second set by going on 8-1 run, surviving four game points to pull out a 27-25 win.