DALLAS, Texas – Eastern New Mexico volleyball fell in its final two games at the Patriot Tournament in Dallas, Texas on Saturday afternoon. First, the Hounds were on the wrong end of a five-set thriller with Westminster, 3-2. Followed by 3-0 defeat against #24 Wayne State College.

GAME ONE: WTU 3, ENMU 2

The Griffins and Greyhounds were tightly contested in the first set. The first set featured nine tie scores and seven different lead changes. The Hounds found themselves trailing 21-20 after calling a timeout. From there, with Jasmine Gannon at the service line, the Green and Silver rattled off five consecutive points to win the first set, 25-21. The scoring stretch featured a kill and block from Jordan O'Connor-Dempsey, and a Gannon ace.
 
The theme of close sets carried over into the second set. Both teams traded points throughout the stanza with both teams locked at 21 points. From then, Westminster put together a four-point run, pushing the score to 24-21. The Greyhounds late comeback was ended with a Lydia Miller kill sealing the second set, 25-23.

Set three continued to display close action between both teams. The Hounds put together a short streak gaining a 17-11 lead off the back of a 6-0 run. The run featured two kills from Rylee Mapes and Qitana Sapiga service ace. The Griffins did not quit, taking the score to 21-21 before ENMU went on to eventually pull away taking the third set, 26-24.
 
In the fourth set, both teams used substantial runs to get back into the set. The Greyhounds put themselves ahead early, and brought the score to 23-17, following a Gannon kill. However, Westminster put together a run of their own, grabbing the last eight points to take the fourth set, 25-23.
 
Q. Sapiga kicked off the final set with two straight service aces, and expand the lead to 7-3. The score moved to 10-10, with the Griffins closing out the match with a 5-2 run. Westminster won the final set, 15-12, sealing a win 3-2 over ENMU.
 

NOTABLE STATS

• Each offense supplied 54 kills, while Westminster had more assists, 50-42.
• Defensively, ENMU held the edge in digs (74-73), with the Griffins posting more blocks (9-7).
• Gannon supplied season highs in kills (17) and digs (16), leading all competitors in the game.
• Gracelyn Stubbs followed Gannon in attack with nine kills, and Mikaela Garvin contributed eight kills.
• Rae Sapiga paced the Hounds in assists with 23, closely behind was Q.Sapiga with 14 assists.
• Along with Gannon, three other Greyhounds reached double figures in digs: Daejia Rodriguez (15), Q.Sapiga (11), and R.Sapiga (10). 

GAME TWO: WSC 3, ENMU 0

Both teams traded points early bringing the score to 4-4. From then, Wayne State used two separate 7-0 and 9-0 relays to put themselves in front of ENMU. The Wildcats won the first set 25-11.
 
Set two saw the Wildcats jump out to a large lead, 10-4, then added a 9-5 stretch pushing the score to 19-9. A late streak from the Greyhounds brought them within seven, but Wayne State closed out the set 25-16.
 
The Greyhounds responded in the third set, keeping the Wildcats close throughout. The stanza featured each team having 4-0 runs, setting the score at 16-14 Wayne State. Eventually, the Wildcats used a 7-2 to distance themselves from the Hounds, and closed out the set 25-18, for a 3-0 victory.

NOTABLE STATS

• Wayne State held the edge on kills 39-30, with ENMU posting more blocks, 4-3.
• Gannon filled the stat sheet, leading the Greyhound in digs (9), kills (7), and blocks (2).
• Garvin and Kali Nelson were the next in attack with seven and five kills, respectively.
• Q.Sapiga set the tone in assists with 12, while Eliana Luteru added eight assists.

 

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Today's meeting against Westminster marked the first time the two schools met.
• Gannon and Garvin were named to the All-Tournament Team for the 2021 Patriot Tournament.
• Over the weekend, Gannon surpassed 900 career kills. Gannon is the eighth Greyhound to ever reach this milestone.
• Mapes and Grace Ramirez made their debut for the Greyhounds.
• The Greyhounds travel to New Mexico Highlands for their next contest on Tuesday, Sept. 7, beginning at 6 PM.