PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico volleyball will compete in three matches over the course of five days, including their home opener against Angelo State on Sept. 14 at 6 p.m.
BREAK OUT THE BROOMS
Eastern New Mexico opened up their Lone Star Conference schedule last weekend with consecutive 3-0 sweeps over Midwestern State and Cameron to move to 2-0 in LSC play for the first time since 2003. The Hounds finished the weekend without conceding a single set and posted a season high team hitting percentage (.319) in Saturday's match against Cameron.
Eastern also recorded the lowest amount of errors as a team for the season during that contest with Cameron with just 12. The Hounds recorded four 3-0 victories all of last season.
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
Eastern New Mexico is 7-5 all-time versus UT- Permian Basin and has notched victories in each of the last four contests with the Falcons, three of which were 3-0 sweeps. The Hounds defeated UTPB in both matches last season with final scores of 3-0 and 3-1 and have won three out of five match-ups with the Falcons on the road.
UTPB has already eclipsed their win total from a season ago with five wins on the year, but opened up their LSC conference schedule with a 3-0 loss on the road to Texas A&M-Kingsville. The Falcons and Hounds have shared two common opponents in Purdue Northwest, whom both UTPB and Eastern defeated by a final score of 3-2, and Colorado State-Pueblo, a team in which UTPB defeated by a final score of 3-0 and Eastern defeated by a 3-2 final.
Junior Skyler Friel leads the team with 79 kills and currently ranks fifth in the conference with a hitting percentage of .309. Friel along with juniors Travana Matthews and Aquincia Strambler have combined for an effective trio of offensive weapons, as all three have totaled 70 or more kills so far this season.
Matthews (1.06 blocks per set) and Friel (.86 blocks per set) also each rank in the top 15 in the league in blocks per set. That defensive combination has contributed to the Falcons limiting opponents to the third lowest hitting percentage in the conference at .144.
SCOUTING THE RAMS
The preseason favorites in the Lone Star Conference will enter the match-up with Eastern on Friday night in the receiving votes category of the ACVA National Poll. Eastern New Mexico is 26-48 all-time against the Belles, but have defeated Angelo State in each of the past two season's home matches. That win in the 2016 season was the first win for the Hounds over the perennial power since the 2006 season.
Angelo State picked up two wins in their opening conference matches against Texas A&M-Commerce and Texas Woman's University, but have dropped two matches so far this season to unranked competition in Colorado Christian and Missouri Western State. The Belles will face off with #20 Tarleton State in Stephenville, Texas on Tuesday night in a match-up of perennial powers in the conference before making the trip out to Portales this weekend.
Angelo State has been led by an exceptional performance on the defensive side of the ball, ranking first in the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.114) and third in blocks per set with 2.16 per set. Sophomore Baleigh Allen ranks third in the conference with an average of 1.14 blocks per set.
LSC Preseason Setter of the Year Meghan Parker currently leads the LSC with 22 serving aces on the year and also ranks second in the league with 9.44 assists per set.
SCOUTING THE TEXANNS
Tarleton State will enter the week in solid form after winning their last five matches and has jumped up the national polls to no. 20. The TexAnns have been ranked in every poll since the final poll of the 2016 season.
Eastern New Mexico leads the all-time series with Tarleton State 24-22, but hasn't won a match against the TexAnns since Sept. 27, 2014. The Hounds were swept 3-0 in all three matches against Tarleton last season after meeting with TeAnns in the opening round of the LSC Tournament.
As per usual, Tarleton State has displayed an explosive offense so far this season and ranks first in the league with a team hitting percentage of .243 and averages 2.97 blocks per game as well. Sofia Tonga and Hannah McManus rank first and second in the league with an average of 1.31 and 1.30 blocks per set respectively.
The TexAnns started off their LSC Conference schedule with wins over Texas Woman's and Texas A&M-Commerce. Tarleton State will take on Angelo State at home on Tuesday night before beginning their weekend series.
GANNON IN THE LEAD
Sophomore
Jasmine Gannon now sits atop the LSC in kills per set with an average of 3.63 kills per set after this past weekend's results throughout the conference. Gannon has recorded 10 or more kills in every match this season after recording 15 kills against Midwestern State and 11 kills against Cameron.
Those 15 kills in the Midwestern State game are the most kills recorded by a player in a three-set match this season.
DOUBLIN UP FOR TUIOTI-MARINER
Junior
Sarah Tuioti-Mariner has recorded four straight double-doubles over the course of the past four games, the longest streak of her career. The California native ranks ninth in the league with an average of 2.82 kills per set.
DEFENDING THE NET
Senior
Jennifer Martinez and sophomore
Julie Tucker have each been increasingly active around the net throughout the recent stretch of good play for the Hounds. Both players lead the team in blocks with 24.0 total each on the year.
23.0 of those blocks have come between the two players in the last four games.
A LOOK AROUND THE CONFERENCE
The opening weekend of conference play throughout the league saw five teams go 2-0 and four teams go 0-2, with UT Permian Basin and Western New Mexico each losing their one and only contest. Texas A&M-Commerce remained in the national polls at no. 23 despite dropping both games over the weekend in conference play.
The Hounds currently sit in a tie for first place with Tarleton State, Angelo State, Texas A&M-Kingsville, and West Texas A&M. Wins this weekend for the Hounds will give them a chance to sit in out-right first place depending on the results for Texas A&M-Kingsville and West Texas A&M.
